nobody
Americanpronoun
noun
plural
nobodiespronoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of nobody
First recorded 1300–50; Middle English; see origin at no 2, body
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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.
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
Everyone loves to say, “Don’t pay an adviser fee,” but almost nobody understands what they’re actually comparing.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026
But nobody could have predicted that he would be this good, this soon.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
"I liked that the owners have a similar background to me - hard work, graft, underdogs nobody believed in - but they created a really successful business," he said.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
The apartment windows are dark, and nobody answers the door when you knock.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
