anything
Americanpronoun
noun
adverb
idioms
-
anything goes, any type of conduct, dress, speech, etc., is considered acceptable or valid or is likely to be encountered and tolerated.
That resort is a place where anything goes!
-
anything but, in no degree or respect; not in the least.
The plans were anything but definite.
pronoun
noun
adverb
-
in any way
he wasn't anything like his father
-
by no means; not in the least
she was anything but happy
-
(intensifier; usually euphemistic)
he ran like anything
Etymology
Origin of anything
before 900; Middle English ani thing, eni thing, Old English ǣnig thing. See any, thing 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“What it got was a price surge, an unplanned cash windfall, and a set of strategic pressures that, if anything, have grown more urgent.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Some analysts say Chinese tech valuations are, if anything, more stretched than Korea’s, resting on a domestic-substitution story that assumes China’s champions deserve to trade like Nvidia’s ecosystem without Nvidia’s numbers behind them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
A GoFundMe for Villalba described him as "a devoted husband, loving father of three, and a loyal friend who would do anything for anyone".
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Price said he never intended to do anything wrong and questioned the fairness of a prosecution over what he said was essentially a paperwork error.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
“I couldn’t think of anything to write,” I say.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
