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nobody

[noh-bod-ee, -buhd-ee, -buh-dee]
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pronoun
  1. no person; not anyone; no one: Nobody answered, so I hung up.
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noun, plural no·bod·ies.
  1. a person of no importance, influence, or power.
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Origin of nobody

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at no2, body
Can be confusednobody no one none1 (see usage note at none1)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

nothingnullityzipupstartzerowimpnixparvenucipherzilchlightweightsquirtmenialnonentityzippoinsignificancy

Examples from the Web for nobody

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • They all admired and respected her, and nobody doubted the reality of her adventures.

  • "Nobody ever thinks I see anything," said Aunt Jane, in some dejection.

    Malbone

    Thomas Wentworth Higginson

  • What I hear at night is the creaking of stairs, when I know that nobody ought to be stirring.

    Malbone

    Thomas Wentworth Higginson

  • Hope bade one and another run for a physician, but nobody stirred.

    Malbone

    Thomas Wentworth Higginson

  • I desired her to give it into her own hand, when nobody was by.

    Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for nobody

nobody

pronoun
  1. no person; no-one
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noun plural -bodies
  1. an insignificant person
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xref

See everyone
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for nobody

n.

mid-14c., no body "no person noone," from Middle English no (adj.) "not any" + bodi (see body (n.)). Written as two words 14c.-18c.; hyphenated 17c.-18c. Incorrect use with their is attested from 1540s. Meaning "person of no importance" is from 1580s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with nobody

nobody

In addition to the idioms beginning with nobody

  • nobody home

also see:

  • like crazy (nobody's business)
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.