something
Language: English
Part of speech: pron
Pronunciation: enpr: sŭmʹthĭng
ipa: /ˈsʌm.θɪŋ/
ipa: [ˈsɐm̥(p)θɪŋ]
ipa: [ˈsʌm̥(p)θɪŋ]
ipa: [ˈsʌn̪̥θɪŋ]
ipa: /ˈsʊm.t̪ɪŋ/
note: Dublin
ipa: /ˈsʊm.tɪn/
note: Dublin
ipa: /ˈsʊm.tɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪŋ
Forms: form: somthing
form: sumthing
form: sumn
form: sumting
form: sumthang
form: sumfink
form: sth
form: sth.
form: sthg
form: smtg
form: smth
form: smtn
Etymology: From Middle English somþyng, some-thing, som thing, sum thinge, sum þinge, from Old English sum þing (literally “some thing”), equivalent to some + thing. Compare Old English āwiht (“something”, literally “some thing, any thing”), Swedish någonting (“something”, literally “some thing, any thing”).
Senses: examples: text: I must have forgotten to pack something, but I can't think what.
text: I have something for you in my bag.
text: I have a feeling something good is going to happen today.
text: The answer to four down is P something T something Y.
text: She looked thirty-something. (anything from thirty-one to thirty-nine years old)
text: Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic who still resists the idea that something drastic needs to happen for him to turn his life around.
ref: 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:
synonyms: word: sth
raw_tags: in dictionaries
glosses: An uncertain or unspecified thing; one thing.
examples: text: The performance was something of a disappointment.
text: That child is something of a genius.
text: Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps, with something of the stately pose which Richter has given his Queen Louise on the stairway, and the light of the reflector fell full upon her.
ref: 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
text: Christensen, who also edited and co-wrote the film, is becoming something of a specialist in child horror, having launched his feature directorial career with the infant-themed Still/Born in 2017.
ref: 2020 May 7, Katie Rife, “If you’re looking to jump in your seat, make a playdate with Z”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 16 May 2020:
glosses: A quality to a moderate degree.
raw_tags: of someone or something
examples: text: She has a certain something.
synonyms: je ne sais quoi
glosses: A talent or quality that is difficult to specify.
raw_tags: of a person
examples: text: He's really something! I've never heard such a great voice.
text: She's quite something. I can't believe she would do such a mean thing.
text: Some marmosets are less than six inches tall. —Well, isn't that something?
text: Kanye [West]'s speech was...something, that's for sure. As for a best or worst moment? Apparently, it depends on what you think of Yeezy because Twitter was a house divided.
ref: 2016 August 29, Anna Moeslein, “The Best and Worst Moments of the MTV VMAs 2016”, in Glamour:
glosses: Somebody who or something that is superlative or notable in some way.
raw_tags: with really or quite
Derived terms: a little of something goes a long way
be onto something
give someone something to think about
leave something to be desired
look like something the cat brought in
look like something the cat dragged in
look like something the cat's dragged in
make something of
or something
something green in one's eye
slip into something more comfortable
some something or other
something and nothing
something dreadful
something else
something for the weekend
something is better than nothing
something is rotten in the state of Denmark
something is up
something like
something like that
something nasty in the woodshed
something or other
something something
something tells one
somethingth
something to write home about
tell me something I don't know
that is something
that's saying something
that's something
there is something rotten in the state of Denmark
there is something to be said for
there must be something in the water
up to something
you can't get something for nothing
you don't get something for nothing
you know something
you learn something new every day
Related terms: anything
everything
nothing
somebody
someone
-something
-somethingth
somewhere
thing