anything

[ en-ee-thing ]
See synonyms for anything on Thesaurus.com
pronoun
  1. any thing whatever; something, no matter what: Do you have anything for a toothache?

noun
  1. a thing of any kind.

adverb
  1. in any degree; to any extent; in any way; at all: Does it taste anything like chocolate?

Idioms about anything

  1. anything but, in no degree or respect; not in the least: The plans were anything but definite.

  2. anything goes, any type of conduct, dress, speech, etc., is considered acceptable or valid or is likely to be encountered and tolerated: That resort is a place where anything goes!

Origin of anything

1
before 900; Middle English ani thing, eni thing,Old English ǣnig thing.See any, thing1

Words Nearby anything

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use anything in a sentence

  • There was a rumor that Alessandro and his father had both died; but no one knew anything certainly.

    Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson
  • As men fixed in the grip of nightmare, we were powerless—unable to do anything but wait.

  • He made me think of an old time magician more than anything, and I felt that with a touch of his wand he could transform us all.

  • Strathland would bundle me out in ten minutes if anything happened to Jack.

    Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
  • It is no good settling down in a world that, on its part, refuses to do anything of the sort.

    The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

British Dictionary definitions for anything

anything

/ (ˈɛnɪˌθɪŋ) /


pronoun
  1. any object, event, action, etc, whatever: anything might happen

noun
  1. a thing of any kind: have you anything to declare?

adverb
  1. in any way: he wasn't anything like his father

  2. anything but by no means; not in the least: she was anything but happy

  1. like anything (intensifier; usually euphemistic): he ran like anything

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with anything

anything

In addition to the idioms beginning with anything

  • anything but
  • anything goes
  • anything like

also see:

  • can't do anything with
  • if anything
  • like anything
  • not anything like

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.