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.
Meanwhile, prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket let people bet beyond sports — to just about anything.
From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026
It’s a system in which almost no one recovers anything because no one bothers to look.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
You’re not doing anything physical—I don’t want to misrepresent what you’re doing.
From Slate • May 19, 2026
"There are hundreds of graduate students writing theses on the Maldives using the data they gather together with Monica, or that Monica gathered. And no one knew anything? It makes me laugh."
From BBC • May 19, 2026
Her mouth keeps moving but I don’t hear anything.
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.
