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:
“I’m really sick of somebody having that power over me,” he told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Back in the castle, Ranganathan pointed out: "If somebody else had behaved like Richard, we wouldn't even be having a debate about this, you would just go 'you've got to vote for him'."
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
“It’s highly associated with all muscle strength or weakness. If somebody is very weak in their grip, they are at very high risk for whole body frailty and weakness.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
I’m not somebody who’s well informed about the world of politics, I’m not the most eligible person, and I try to just stand by humanity — just the basic, fundamental facts that we all know.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
“We are a people of piety. We need somebody to blame.”
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
You can think, within two seconds, of stories of nobodies who became somebodies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
"Somebody or somebodies know where this came from and how it got there," Mr Tobin said.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2024
Any political cartoon is bound to offend somebody — or quite a few somebodies — on a regular basis.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 25, 2023
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
"Three somebodies whom you know, or ought to know, very well: Mr. Duxbury Farley, Mr. Vincent Farley, Miss Eva Farley."
From The Quickening by E. M. Ashe
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.
