someone
Americanpronoun
pronoun
Etymology
Origin of someone
Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at some, one
Compare meaning
How does someone compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
The word someone refers a person or an individual, but not necessarily a specific one. If you're not hungry enough for dessert after lunch, you can ask the friends at your table, "Does someone want my ice cream sandwich?" It's a funny contradiction, but the noun someone can be used to mean "any unspecified person," but also "a very important person." So a child might say, "When I grow up, I want to be someone," meaning that they want to be well-known or famous, or just really good at something. Someone and somebody are synonyms, so you can use them interchangeably, although someone is slightly more formal.
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.
Maybe someone smarter or more charismatic than Erika Kirk would have been able to navigate these contradictions.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
Unable to reach him by phone, colleagues in Atlanta asked the company’s Buenos Aires office to find someone to drive five hours to the ranch and deliver the latest data on falling sales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
As someone who’s lived in the city for the last 15 years, he knew he needed to pull off a show that suited the city.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
For example, common genetic variants associated with openness to experience were linked to a greater likelihood that someone would move to a more cosmopolitan neighborhood.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026
I don’t feel like I have to do things to make him happy, to be someone I’m not to get him to stay.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
