anywhere

American  

[en-ee-hwair, -wair] / ˈɛn iˌʰwɛər, -ˌwɛər /

adverb

1. in, at, or to any place.

2. to any extent; to some degree.

   Does my answer come anywhere near the right one?

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noun

1. any place or direction.

   They knew the attack could come from anywhere.

idioms

1. get anywhere, to achieve success.

   You'll never get anywhere with that attitude!

anywhere British  

/ ˈɛnɪˌwɛə /

adverb

1. in, at, or to any place

2. to be successful

   it took three years before he got anywhere

3. any quantity, time, degree, etc, above a specified limit

   he could be anywhere from 40 to 50 years old

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Spelling

See anyplace.

Etymology

Origin of anywhere

1350–1400; Middle English anywher ( e ), aniquar. See any, where

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Explanation

The adverb anywhere means "in any location," or "wherever." If you're allowed to pitch your tent anywhere in the campground, it means you can choose any spot you like. When you say, "I can't find the cat anywhere!" it means you've looked every single place you can think of, and you still haven't located your pet. If you win the lottery, you may be overwhelmed by the idea that you can afford to travel anywhere — you can visit any country in the world. English speakers started saying anywhere in the 14th century; earlier, they said owhere or oughwhere.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

anywhere

What they knew was that under the NFL’s previous overtime rules for regular-season games, it wasn’t anywhere close to fair.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

October has also been an ugly month for the sector but this time around, JPMorgan’s global strategy team does not anticipate a recovery anywhere near as speedy and emphatic.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

“This is not January 2025. The winds are not going to be anywhere near as strong. They will not be as widespread. The vegetation is not as dry,” Swain said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

"It cost anywhere from $160 million to $180 million -- that's even before marketing -- and it's made relatively nothing at the box office."

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

I hadn’t traveled much, but the few times we’d ever gone anywhere the river would always appear at some point, like when we visited our father’s relatives.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

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