ANYBODY Definition & Meaning

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anybody

[ en-ee-bod-ee, -buhd-ee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

pronoun

any person.

noun

plural anybodies.

a person of some importance:
If you're anybody, you'll receive an invitation.

anybody

/ ˈɛnɪˌbɒdɪ; -bədɪ /

pronoun

any person; anyone
usually used with a negative or a question a person of any importance
he isn't anybody in this town

noun

often preceded by just any person at random; no matter who

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Usage Note

See each, they ( def ).

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Spelling Note

The pronoun anybody is always written as one word: Is anybody home? There isn't anybody in the office. The two-word noun phrase any body means “any group” ( Any body of students will include a few dissidents ) or “any physical body” ( The search continued for a week despite the failure to find any body ). If the word a can be substituted for any without seriously affecting the meaning, the two-word noun phrase is called for: a body of students; failure to find a body. If the substitution cannot be made, the spelling is anybody. Anybody is less formal than anyone. anyone.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of anybody¹

First recorded in 1250–1300, anybody is from Middle English ani bodi. See any, body

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Idioms and Phrases

anybody's guess, a matter of conjecture:
It's anybody's guess why she quit.

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Compare Meanings

How does anybody compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Despite what anybody might think, Ezban assures me that “Párvulos” was conceived long before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the world in 2020.

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You wonder on one hand how anybody could do this to a beautiful child, a precious child who deserved to live.

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"In other words, they charge us, we charge them, we charge them less. So how can anybody be upset?"

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“Anybody know what his fees are?”

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As a public institution, limited parts of UCLA’s grounds are open to anybody to demonstrate at most times of day.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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