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.
And yet, it’s rare to find a storefront that compels me to pause and look, as so few display anything other than exactly what is on the racks inside.
From Los Angeles Times
I usually eat just about anything there, and sometimes I ask them to surprise me.
From Los Angeles Times
“What these groves need is fire, more than anything,” said fire ecologist Chad Hanson, who has studied the Redwood Mountain Grove recovery.
From Los Angeles Times
What followed was unlike anything I’ve experienced in 20 years of car ownership: a three-month fight to convince my insurer to pay for a repair from a qualified mechanic.
Perhaps what has frustrated the England boss most is that while losing to Italy was a first, the manner of that defeat was anything but novel - particularly in terms of defence.
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.
