nobody
Americanpronoun
noun
-
nobodies
plural
pronoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of nobody
First recorded 1300–50; Middle English; see origin at no 2, body
Compare meaning
How does nobody compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Use the word nobody to mean "no one," or for someone who's completely unimportant or insignificant. It's not nice to call someone a nobody; everyone wants to be a somebody. If nobody is at home, you can ring the doorbell for an hour and get no response, and if nobody in your family likes pizza, there's no reason to order it for dinner. Since nobody means "no person," it's come to also have the meaning "insignificant person." It's hard not to feel like a nobody when your sister becomes famous after starring in a popular movie.
Vocabulary lists containing nobody
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:
That is the part that should bother you — nobody has to plan it anymore.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
I watched a sixth-round afterthought — the 199th pick in the draft, a kid nobody had wanted on their team — walk onto the field and start rewriting what was possible.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
Just 3% replied that "nobody should get any additional money" for all three tasks.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
"But for a long time, nobody knew what exactly was circulating in their blood that protected them."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026
“What I saw—well, you won’t believe me, and nobody else will back up my story. But I know what I saw. I’m not crazy!”
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
For context, they didn't go from nobodies to champions in Pocognoli's one season at the helm.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
An addendum: “It is far easier to work with nobodies or people who are on their way up than established stars.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
He understands that he can’t fight a bunch of nobodies and wait until he is 35 to have a signature fight, as Crawford did.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2023
A small group of nobodies on TikTok saying dumb shit is not a viral trend that necessitates mass hysteria in response.
From Slate ● Nov. 16, 2023
At school, there were the jocks, the cheerleaders, and the popular kids—and then there were the nobodies like me.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
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.
