-some

¹

1. a native English suffix formerly used in the formation of adjectives:

   quarrelsome; burdensome.

-some

²

1. a collective suffix used with numerals:

   twosome; threesome.

-some

³

1. a combining form meaning “body,” used in the formation of compound words:

   chromosome.

some

⁴

[ suhm; unstressed suhm ]

adjective

1. being an undetermined or unspecified one:

   Some person may object.

2. (used with plural nouns) certain:

   Some days I stay home.

3. of a certain unspecified number, amount, degree, etc.:

   to some extent.

4. unspecified but considerable in number, amount, degree, etc.:

   We talked for some time. He was here some weeks.

5. Informal. of impressive or remarkable quality, consequence, extent, etc.:

   That was some storm.

pronoun

1. certain persons, individuals, instances, etc., not specified:

   Some think he is dead.

2. an unspecified number, amount, etc., as distinguished from the rest or in addition:

   He paid a thousand dollars and then some.

adverb

1. (used with numerals and with words expressing degree, extent, etc.) approximately; about:

   Some 300 were present.

2. Informal. to some degree or extent; somewhat:

   I like baseball some. She is feeling some better today.

3. Informal. to a great degree or extent; considerably:

   That's going some.

-some

¹

suffix forming nouns

1. indicating a group of a specified number of members

   threesome

-some

²

/ -səʊm /

combining form

1. a body

   chromosome

-some

³

suffix forming adjectives

1. characterized by; tending to

   tiresome

   awesome

some

⁴

/ səm; sʌm /

determiner

1. 1. (a) certain unknown or unspecified

      some people never learn

      some lunatic drove into my car

   2. ( as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural )

      some can teach and others can't

2. 1. an unknown or unspecified quantity or amount of

      he owns some horses

      there's some rice on the table

   2. ( as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural )

      we'll buy some

3. 1. a considerable number or amount of

      he lived some years afterwards

   2. a little

      show him some respect

4. informal.
   usually stressed an impressive or remarkable

   that was some game!

5. a certain amount (more) (in the phrases some more and (informal) and then some )
6. about; approximately

   he owes me some thirty pounds

adverb

1. not_standard.
   to a certain degree or extent

   I guess I like him some

Confusables Note

As pronouns, both some and any may be used in affirmative or negative questions: Will you ( won't you ) have some? Do you ( don't you ) have any? But some is used in affirmative statements and answers: You may have some. Yes, I'd like some. And in negative statements and answers, any is the usual choice: I don't care for any. No, I can't take any.

Word History and Origins

Origin of -some¹

Middle English; Old English -sum; akin to Gothic -sama, German -sam; same

Origin of -some²

Middle English -sum, Old English sum; special use of some (pronoun)

Origin of -some³

< Greek sôma body; soma ¹

Origin of -some⁴

First recorded before 900; Middle English (adjective and pronoun); Old English sum originally, “someone”; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle High German sum, Old Norse sumr, Gothic sums

Word History and Origins

Origin of -some¹

Old English sum, special use of some (determiner)

Origin of -some²

from Greek sōma body

Origin of -some³

Old English -sum; related to Gothic -sama, German -sam

Origin of -some⁴

Old English sum; related to Old Norse sumr, Gothic sums, Old High German sum some, Sanskrit samá any, Greek hamē somehow

Idioms and Phrases

see and then some ; catch some rays ; catch some z's ; dig up (some dirt) ; in a (some) sense ; in some measure ; one of these days (some day) ; take some doing ; to some degree ; win some, lose some .

Example Sentences

In the L.A. area on Saturday, rainfall totals were mostly under a tenth of an inch, with some mountain areas getting about a quarter of an inch, according to Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

From Los Angeles Times

The rain is expected to stop after Tuesday, with some potential to resume next weekend.

From Los Angeles Times

While most political strategists agree that some spending on paid media is necessary to win a campaign in 2024, Faiz Shakir, a senior advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., told Salon that the Harris campaign's spending profile is indicative of a structural issue with how the Democratic Party approaches paid media and political strategy.

From Salon

In some cases, Shakir said, even senior campaign staff will get a cut of ad spending.

From Salon

For example Precision Strategies, a firm founded by Jen O'Malley Dillon, the campaign chair for Biden and later Harris, also received some $112,924.

From Salon

Related Words

• a few