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.
“Really, Zuck, you could have worn ANYTHING, and you chose this?” tweeted one observer.
From New York Times • Jan. 20, 2022
But it’s much more interesting for me to write a book where right up to the last page I can do ANYTHING.
From Salon • Aug. 13, 2019
“And then a couple of weeks ago, I read how we are running out of sand . Sand! Really?! And I thought, ‘This almost makes me not care about ANYTHING!’
From Seattle Times • Jul. 19, 2016
“The @dramabookshop is not only the best place to get theater-related ANYTHING, I wrote most of In the Heights there. Pls support.”
From New York Times • Feb. 23, 2016
HAGRID: Do you mean ter tell me, that this boy—this boy!—knows nothin’ abou’—about ANYTHING?
From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling
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.
