anything

English

Etymology

any +‎ thing

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɛniθɪŋ/, X-SAMPA: /"EniTIN/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: an‧y‧thing

Adverb

anything (not comparable)

1. In any way, any extent or any degree.

   That isn't anything like a car.

Pronoun

anything

1. Any object, act, state, event, or fact whatever; thing of any kind; something or other; aught.

   I would not do it for anything.

2. (with “as” or “like”) Expressing an indefinite comparison.
   • 1916, Edward S. Moffat, Go Forth and Find, page 81-82:

     Perhaps it was this atmosphere of misplacedness and loneliness as much as anything which led her to speak to him one evening in early summer when the office had closed.

Derived terms

anything else anything goes anythingarian as anything

if anything not much of anything not that there's anything wrong with that

Translations

any thing of any kind

• American Sign Language: A@Wrist-PalmUp-A@CenterTrunkhigh-PalmUp 5@SideTrunkhigh-PalmUp-5@SideTrunkhigh-PalmUp
• Bulgarian: нещо (bg) (nešto), каквото и да е (bg) (kakvoto i da e)
• Catalan: qualsevol cosa (ca), alguna cosa (ca), quelcom (ca), tot (ca), res (ca)
• Chamicuro: anaskajneye
• Czech: cokoliv (cs)
• French: n’importe quoi (fr)
• Greek: οτιδήποτε (el) (otidípote) n , ό,τι (el) (ó ti) 
• Ido: irgo (io)
• Irish: aon rud (ga)
• Italian: qualunque cosa (it)
• Japanese: 何でも (ja) (なんでも, nandemo)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: هیچ (ku) (hiç)

• Macedonian: било што (mk) (bílo što), што било (mk) (što bílo), што и да било (mk) (što i da bílo)
• Malay:

  Rumi: apa-apa (ms)

  Jawi: اڤ٢ (ms)

• Manx: nhee erbee (gv)
• Romanian: orice (ro), nimic (ro)
• Scottish Gaelic: rud sam bith (gd)
• Serbo-Croatian: bilošto (sh), bilo što (sh)
• Telugu: ఏమైనా (Emainaa)
• Tok Pisin: samting (tpi)

Noun

anything (plural anythings)

1. Someone or something of importance.
   • 2007 May 6, Cindy Chupack, “An Ancient Coda to My 21st-Century Divorce”, New York Times:

     So we tried not to talk about first or second anythings until our meeting with the rabbi.

Usage notes

• Any thing, written as two words, is now commonly used in contradistinction to any person or anybody. Formerly it was also separated when used in the wider sense. Necessity drove them to undertake any thing and venture any thing. --De Foe.

Translations

someone or something

• American Sign Language: A@Wrist-PalmUp-A@CenterTrunkhigh-PalmUp 5@SideTrunkhigh-PalmUp-5@SideTrunkhigh-PalmUp
• Amuzgo: makjo
• Finnish: mikä tahansa
• Greek: οτιδήποτε (el) (otidipote) 
• Japanese: 何でも (nandemo)
• Latin: quisquam (la)

• Maltese: kwalunkwe ħaġa
• Portuguese: qualquer coisa
• Romanian: cineva (ro), ceva (ro)
• Scottish Gaelic: dad (gd) m, càil (gd) f
• Slovene: karkoli n
• Swedish: något (sv), vad som helst (sv), vilken som helst (sv), vilket som helst (sv) (1)

Related terms

thing nothing something

everything anybody, anyone anywhere

References

• anything in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: near · public · others · #288: anything · matter · passed · true