anyone
Americanpronoun
pronoun
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any person; anybody
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(used with a negative or a question) a person of any importance
is he anyone in this town?
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(often preceded by just) any person at random; no matter who
Spelling
Anyone as a pronoun meaning “anybody” or “any person at all” is written as one word: Does anyone have the correct time? The two-word phrase any one means “any single member of a group of persons or things” and is often followed by of: Can any one of the members type? Any one of these books is exciting reading. Anyone is somewhat more formal than anybody.
Usage
See each, they ( def. ).
Etymology
Origin of anyone
First recorded in 1350–1400, anyone is from Middle English ani on. See any, one
Compare meaning
How does anyone 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.
However, Tierney was back to something like his best at Pittodrie, with more goal attempts than anyone else on the pitch and winning every duel in which he competed.
From BBC
“If anyone wants to keep their job as CEO, it would be tremendously foolhardy to adopt a homegrown, vibe-coded solution,” Meyer said, referring to the process of creating software via AI text prompts.
“The problem with that is that if anyone picked that up it puts me right in the middle of it,” Grillo responded.
From Los Angeles Times
Not that even legitimate experts would find it easy to hold meetings under the current conditions in Tehran, and perhaps this group will be unable to name anyone to replace the late ayatollah.
Tehran feels "empty" and anyone leaving their home must have an "urgent reason", she says.
From BBC
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.
