anybody
Americanpronoun
noun
-
anybodies
plural
idioms
pronoun
-
any person; anyone
-
(usually used with a negative or a question) a person of any importance
he isn't anybody in this town
noun
Spelling
The pronoun anybody is always written as one word: Is anybody home? There isn't anybody in the office. The two-word noun phrase any body means “any group” ( Any body of students will include a few dissidents ) or “any physical body” ( The search continued for a week despite the failure to find any body ). If the word a can be substituted for any without seriously affecting the meaning, the two-word noun phrase is called for: a body of students; failure to find a body. If the substitution cannot be made, the spelling is anybody. Anybody is less formal than anyone. See also anyone.
Usage
See each, they ( def. ).
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of anybody
First recorded in 1250–1300, anybody is from Middle English ani bodi. See any, body
Compare meaning
How does anybody compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
See Examples For:
“The main goal of our whole concept here really isn’t to burden anybody or take away their property,” Adam Horner, Antagonist’s general manager, said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
“If you asked anybody in freshman year or sophomore, ‘Do you imagine Tobias Raymond being the team captain in two years?’
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
"We are also concerned more broadly about an atmosphere in which it feels like anybody can film anybody without their knowledge or consent," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
"I'm the bottom of the food chain. I can't pass my costs on to anybody else," he added.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
All they knew was that Deutsche Bank didn’t know, either, and neither did anybody else.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Whether or not we can completely banish drivel and have conversations based solely on reason is anybodies guess.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 25, 2011
With seven teams, each trying to get to the top spot on the podium, it was anybodies day to win at anytime.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Be governed by your conscience, and never ask anybodies leave to be honest."
From The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown
It was a season of the year, when most people, who were anybodies, left town, and the villas along the shores of the Hudson had long been occupied.
From Afloat and Ashore A Sea Tale by James Fenimore Cooper
When a man was as clever as John, he was anybodies equal—one saw that every day.
From Fenwick's Career by Mrs. Humphry Ward
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.
