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.
"I don't hear anything more for a while," Betton said.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
“You can say anything you want on the trombone,” Ellington noted, “but you gotta be careful with words”—an aptly worded statement, ironically.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
“It will be warm Monday, then really crank up Tuesday. ... In the valleys, we’re looking at anything between 100 and 110.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
Miles said he was grateful the truth mattered, even after all these years, but that he wishes more than anything his dad were alive to see his name cleared.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
Things are going so fast, I can’t make out anything other than a blur of light.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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.
