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anybody

[en-ee-bod-ee, -buhd-ee]
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pronoun
  1. any person.
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noun, plural an·y·bod·ies.
  1. a person of some importance: If you're anybody, you'll receive an invitation.
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Idioms
  1. anybody's guess, a matter of conjecture: It's anybody's guess why she quit.
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Origin of anybody

First recorded in 1250–1300, anybody is from the Middle English word ani bodi. See any, body
Can be confusedantibody anybody (see usage note at the current entry)

Usage note

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, each, they.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for anybody

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • They thought their own habits and customs just a trifle better than those of anybody else.

    Ancient Man

    Hendrik Willem van Loon

  • In his sane moments he did not care a fig for anybody's birthday.

    Viviette

    William J. Locke

  • Such a course is frequent and would not give the right of complaint to anybody.

    The Grand Old Man

    Richard B. Cook

  • Do not say a word to anybody about what has occurred to-night.

    Life in London

    Edwin Hodder

  • Well, of course, I could do better with it than anybody out of the family.

    Weighed and Wanting

    George MacDonald

British Dictionary definitions for anybody

anybody

pronoun
  1. any person; anyone
  2. (usually used with a negative or a question) a person of any importancehe isn't anybody in this town
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noun plural -bodies
  1. (often preceded by just) any person at random; no matter who
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for anybody

n.

c.1300, ani-bodi, from any + body. One-word form is attested by 1826. Phrase anybody's game (or race, etc.) is from 1840.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper