-some

¹ American  

1. a native English suffix formerly used in the formation of adjectives.

   quarrelsome; burdensome.

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-some ² American  

1. a collective suffix used with numerals.

   twosome; threesome.

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-some ³ American  

1. a combining form meaning “body,” used in the formation of compound words.

   chromosome.

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some ⁴ American  

[suhm, suhm] / sʌm, səm /

adjective

1. being an undetermined or unspecified one.

   Some person may object.

2. (used with plural nouns) certain.

   Some days I stay home.

3. of a certain unspecified number, amount, degree, etc..

   to some extent.

4. unspecified but considerable in number, amount, degree, etc..

   We talked for some time. He was here some weeks.

5. Informal. of impressive or remarkable quality, consequence, extent, etc..

   That was some storm.

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pronoun

1. certain persons, individuals, instances, etc., not specified.

   Some think he is dead.

2. an unspecified number, amount, etc., as distinguished from the rest or in addition.

   He paid a thousand dollars and then some.

adverb

1. (used with numerals and with words expressing degree, extent, etc.) approximately; about.

   Some 300 were present.

2. Informal. to some degree or extent; somewhat.

   I like baseball some. She is feeling some better today.

3. Informal. to a great degree or extent; considerably.

   That's going some.

some ¹ British  

/ səm, sʌm /

determiner

1. 1. (a) certain unknown or unspecified

      some lunatic drove into my car

      some people never learn

   2. ( as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural )

      some can teach and others can't

2. 1. an unknown or unspecified quantity or amount of

      there's some rice on the table

      he owns some horses

   2. ( as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural )

      we'll buy some

3. 1. a considerable number or amount of

      he lived some years afterwards

   2. a little

      show him some respect

4. informal (usually stressed) an impressive or remarkable

   that was some game!

5. a certain amount (more) (in the phrases some more and (informal) and then some )

6. about; approximately

   he owes me some thirty pounds

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adverb

1. not_standard to a certain degree or extent

   I guess I like him some

-some ² British  

suffix

1. characterized by; tending to

   awesome

   tiresome

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-some ³ British  

suffix

1. indicating a group of a specified number of members

   threesome

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-some ⁴ British  

/ -səʊm /

combining form

1. a body

   chromosome

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some Idioms  

1. see and then some; catch some rays; catch some z's; dig up (some dirt); in a (some) sense; in some measure; one of these days (some day); take some doing; to some degree; win some, lose some.

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Commonly Confused

As pronouns, both some and any may be used in affirmative or negative questions: Will you ( won't you ) have some? Do you ( don't you ) have any? But some is used in affirmative statements and answers: You may have some. Yes, I'd like some. And in negative statements and answers, any is the usual choice: I don't care for any. No, I can't take any.

Etymology

Origin of -some¹

Middle English; Old English -sum; akin to Gothic -sama, German -sam; same

Origin of -some²

Middle English -sum, Old English sum; special use of some (pronoun)

Origin of -some³

< Greek sôma body; soma ¹

Origin of some⁴

First recorded before 900; Middle English (adjective and pronoun); Old English sum originally, “someone”; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle High German sum, Old Norse sumr, Gothic sums

Example Sentences

ScotRail said "route proving" was under way on Monday morning but some services are unlikely to operate until Monday afternoon.

From BBC

He told the BBC's Radio Scotland Breakfast that 44 road gritters and 47 foot way gritters were involved in the operation, but some villages were "cut off completely".

From BBC

The Education Authority said its transport service planned to operate as normal on Monday but said there may be some disruption or delays.

From BBC

Translink is warning of delays to all routes, with some services operating on main roads only.

From BBC

The Jacksonville Jaguars won the AFC South while the Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago Bears both lost as the full play-off line-up revealed some mouth-watering games for next weekend.

From BBC

Related Words

• a few
• any