nobody
Americanpronoun
noun
plural
nobodiespronoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of nobody
First recorded 1300–50; Middle English; see origin at no 2, body
Compare meaning
How does nobody compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Use the word nobody to mean "no one," or for someone who's completely unimportant or insignificant. It's not nice to call someone a nobody; everyone wants to be a somebody. If nobody is at home, you can ring the doorbell for an hour and get no response, and if nobody in your family likes pizza, there's no reason to order it for dinner. Since nobody means "no person," it's come to also have the meaning "insignificant person." It's hard not to feel like a nobody when your sister becomes famous after starring in a popular movie.
Vocabulary lists containing nobody
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.
“Twenty-five years ago, nobody could run those climate models, or these huge simulations of atmospheres,” Davenport says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
The targets include promises to cut waiting lists by 200,000, eliminating waits of two years or more, and making sure nobody is waiting more than eight weeks for diagnostic tests.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
“He built a company of risk-takers and a culture where character matters and nobody rests in the pursuit of excellence.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026
And in the middle of the Dodgers’ postseason run last October, nobody was more valuable than him.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026
He peered up and down the street— fortunately, nobody was around to see them.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
