anything
Americanpronoun
noun
adverb
idioms
-
anything goes, any type of conduct, dress, speech, etc., is considered acceptable or valid or is likely to be encountered and tolerated.
That resort is a place where anything goes!
-
anything but, in no degree or respect; not in the least.
The plans were anything but definite.
pronoun
noun
adverb
-
in any way
he wasn't anything like his father
-
by no means; not in the least
she was anything but happy
-
(intensifier; usually euphemistic)
he ran like anything
Etymology
Origin of anything
before 900; Middle English ani thing, eni thing, Old English ǣnig thing. See any, thing 1
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.
Without the narrative strictness demanded by the investment bank’s setting, anything can and will happen.
From Salon
But the newest workplace generation—Gen Z—is unlike anything we’ve seen.
Cairns told BBC News NI that he "heard some bangs before anything official came through".
From BBC
One couple told BBC Scotland News that East Ayrshire needed investment, and anything that could get jobs locally would be welcomed.
From BBC
From a distance, the tall grass made the terrain look smooth, but it was anything but: full of rocks and roots and tiny coarse bushes grabbing at your feet.
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.
