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:
There’s a chilling moment at the end of the film where somebody asks him, “Why have you accreted so much power?”
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
“In the absence of knowing somebody, it’s really easy to make them feel other and scary,” he tells the filmmakers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
"I didn't want to go down that route without having somebody by my side to guide me through it," she said.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
“How do we trust somebody that doesn’t have the kind of integrity, the kind of character, to keep to their word?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Maybe JB and Hodge and Gary had Jonah mixed up with somebody else too.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
You can think, within two seconds, of stories of nobodies who became somebodies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
"We felt like we were somebodies for a few weeks," Elaine added.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2025
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
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
