somebody
Americanpronoun
noun
-
somebodies
plural
pronoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of somebody
Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at some, body
Compare meaning
How does somebody compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When you're talking about a person, but not a specific one, use the word somebody. If you cook more than you can eat yourself, you might ask, "Does somebody want this extra macaroni and cheese?" Interestingly, synonyms for somebody include "whoever" and "superstar." In other words, you can use this pronoun to mean any random individual, like when you suggest that somebody is likely to get hurt at a busy intersection near your house. But you can also use it for a very important, well-known, successful, or famous person: "I don't want to get stuck in this small town — I want to be somebody!"
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.
See Examples For:
Russell missed the conversion, but he missed something - or somebody - else just after and it proved costly.
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2026
“That was not typically the case. It would be somebody more on the engineering side of things,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026
If there’s any version of the perfect care community for somebody like Anna today, Poo said, it’s for the “uberwealthy,” who can put a lot of money toward care for a few select individuals.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 13, 2026
"I think somebody probably just picked it up, put it in their pocket and... they're probably smiling and thinking, 'it's in my drawer'," says Purnell.
From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2026
Then I had goose bumps all over like somebody had trod on my grave.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
"If the produce that I've been growing is contaminated in some way, hows it going to affect somebodies health. How is it going to affect my health?," she said.
From BBC ● May 20, 2026
You can think, within two seconds, of stories of nobodies who became somebodies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Morocco, to its further credit beyond all the credit it has earned here, coped with that by playing like somebodies who found themselves belonging here.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 14, 2022
Lance, you and your teammates aren’t being booed because you’re somebodies, you’re booed because you’re cheaters who have not honestly admitted such and apologized for it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2022
"They know French," she would reply in a voice of infinite mortification, when her husband expressed his indignant astonishment at finding these "nobodies" on 'change, "somebodies" at the Opera.
From Graham's Magazine Vol XXXIII No. 1 July 1848 by Robert Taylor Conrad
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
