anyway

Nonstandard, an·y·ways

[en-ee-wey]

adverb

1. in any case; anyhow; nonetheless; regardless.

   Whether you like it or not, I'm going anyway.

2. (used to continue or resume the thread of a story or account).

   Anyway, we finally found a plumber who could come right over.

anyway

/ ˈɛnɪˌweɪ /

adverb

1. in any case; at any rate; nevertheless; anyhow

2. in a careless or haphazard manner

3. Usually any way . in any manner; by any means

Spelling Note

The adverb anyway is spelled as one word: It was snowing hard, but we drove to the play anyway. The two-word phrase any way means “in any manner”: Finish the job any way you choose. If the words “in the” can be substituted for “any,” the two-word phrase is called for: Finish the job in the way you choose. If the substitution cannot be made, the spelling is anyway.

Word History and Origins

Origin of anyway¹

First recorded in 1150–1200, anyway is from Middle English ani wei. See any, way ¹

Example Sentences

Airbus was aware the changes would likely lead to an increase in incidents, but approved them anyway for multiple airlines.

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But in a series of moves that should set off alarm bells around the league, Liverpool went and improved its squad anyway—and not just at the margins.

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Since most people use the navigation system on their devices through Apple CarPlay anyway, Karma contends, an onboard system would be redundant.

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Carson’s “The Tonight Show” ran so your TV dial would, in New York anyway, be set to channel 4 in the morning—so you’d watch “The Today Show.”

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Posts enable control over what we portray to others, and enhanced Photoshopping capabilities mean that pictures found online may not be bona fide anyway.

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Related Words

• anyhow 
• ever 
• once