somebody

1 of 2

pronoun

some·​body ˈsəm-(ˌ)bə-dē How to pronounce somebody (audio)
-ˌbä-
: one or some person of unspecified or indefinite identity
somebody will come in

somebody

2 of 2

noun

: a person of position or importance

Examples of somebody in a Sentence

Pronoun Somebody left you a message. The singer waved to somebody in the crowd. We need somebody who can work nights and weekends. Is that somebody you know? Somebody has to do it. After I turned down the job, she offered it to somebody else. Noun a small-town girl who hopes to become a somebody someday
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Somebody — or multiple somebodies, starting with casting directors Angelique Midthunder and Jennifer Schwalenberg — had to find the show’s four stars. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Sep. 2023 In college sports, somebody’s or a group of somebodies’ pockets have always been filled, been opened up to be filled at somebody else’s expense. Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 4 Aug. 2023 Palestinians saw echoes of George Floyd’s fate in the shooting by police in Jerusalem on May 30th of Iyad Halak, a 32-year-old with severe autism, who was apparently mistaken for somebody else. The Economist, 8 June 2020 Our sole objective is to make sure the right decisions are taken and not that somebody is blamed or not blamed. John Lauerman, Bloomberg.com, 20 May 2020 But to me, they are cooked, soft, delicious beans that somebody else has already packed with flavour and done all the cooking for me. Olivia Harrison, refinery29.com, 30 Apr. 2020 Downstairs, Toby is on a work call; somebody from human resources is explaining that pay raises had been frozen. Washington Post, 8 May 2020 People die every day, so there has to be somebody doing that. Tyler Dragon, Cincinnati.com, 7 May 2020 Now, can somebody please take away all of Bachelor Nation’s TikTok accounts? Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 1 May 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'somebody.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Pronoun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

circa 1566, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of somebody was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near somebody

Cite this Entry

“Somebody.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/somebody. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

somebody

1 of 2 pronoun
some·​body ˈsəm-ˌbäd-ē How to pronounce somebody (audio)
-bəd-
: one or some person of no certain or known identity
did somebody knock?

somebody

2 of 2 noun
: a person of position or importance
wanted to be somebody

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