someone
Americanpronoun
pronoun
Etymology
Origin of someone
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.
I loved it when someone coughed or a phone rang.
From Slate • Apr. 12, 2026
It's really important to talk to someone who can be there for you right now.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
Each time I tune in—which is every day now—it feels as if someone cooler than me is handing me a mixtape made with care, exactly how finding new music should feel.
From Slate • Apr. 12, 2026
Ask someone with imagination to draw up a workforce housing model.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026
I find Zara digging through the pile of jackets someone tossed behind the couch.
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.
