something

[ suhm-thing ]

pronoun

1. some thing; a certain undetermined or unspecified thing:

   Something is wrong there.

   Something's happening.

2. an additional amount, as of cents or minutes, that is unknown, unspecified, or forgotten:

   He charged me ten something for the hat.

   Our train gets in at two something.

noun

1. Informal. a person or thing of some value or consequence:

   He is really something!

   This writer has something to say and she says it well.

adverb

1. in some degree; to some extent; somewhat.
2. Informal. to a high or extreme degree; quite:

   He took on something fierce about my tardiness.

something

¹

/ ˈsʌmθɪŋ /

pronoun

1. an unspecified or unknown thing; some thing

   take something warm with you

   he knows something you don't

2. an unspecified or unknown amount; bit

   something less than a hundred

3. an impressive or important person, thing, or event

   isn't that something?

4. something else
   a remarkable person or thing
5. something or other
   one unspecified thing or an alternative thing

adverb

1. to some degree; a little; somewhat

   to look something like me

2. informal.
   foll by an adjective (intensifier)

   it hurts something awful

-something

²

combining form

1. 1. a person whose age can be approximately expressed by a specified decade
   2. ( as modifier )

      the thirtysomething market

Word History and Origins

Origin of something¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English sum thing; some, thing ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of something¹

C20: from the US television series thirtysomething

Idioms and Phrases

• buy something
• get (have) something on someone
• get something straight
• have something against
• hold something against
• hold (something) over
• look like something the cat dragged in
• make something of
• not put something past one
• on the ball, have something
• (something) or other
• pull something on
• start something
• take something
• you know something

Example Sentences

"At one point in the shoot, I was supposed to laugh. At that moment, someone said something funny and I just burst out laughing."

From BBC

"Our aim is not to promote child marriage in any way. Today, these girls are able to do something like this by fighting against such ideas and restrictions. Please appreciate them, otherwise the morale of these children will fall."

From BBC

“The experts were astonished. They found new plants and told us they’ve been doing research for decades and never seen these species. They were very excited. We couldn’t believe that something we had taken for granted nearby was such a treasure.”

From BBC

“It used to be very poor. We started developing tourism and it brought lots of benefits. Like when the highways were built. We were really happy knowing we have something so valuable here.”

From BBC

Turn around,’ like they want to see my behind or something.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• object
• thing