something

A1 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

Also spelled somethin, somethink, some’n, sumf’n, summut, sumpn, and suthin

US /ˈsʌm.θɪŋ/ UK [ˈsɐm̥(p)θɪŋ] See IPA manual

Freq #101

Meanings

1

pron
A thing that is not named or not known exactly.

I must have forgotten to pack something, but I can't remember what.
2

adv
To some degree; a little.

The baby looks something like his father.
3

pron
A special quality that is hard to describe.

She has a certain something that draws people to her.
4

pron
An impressive or remarkable person or thing.

He's really something! I've never heard such a great voice.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 pron · a special quality that is... je ne sais quoi

Word family

Derived forms somethingburgersomethingismsomethingnesssomethingth

Related forms anything everything nothing somebody someone somewhere thing

Appears in

Idioms (12)

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keep an eye on
Matching variant: keep an eye on something

to watch or look after someone or something carefully, often to make sure nothing goes wrong
get something off your chest
To finally say something that has been worrying you, so you feel relieved.
put something on the table
to offer something for consideration in a discussion or negotiation
get something straight
to make sure something is clearly understood or correct
give something a miss
to choose not to do, attend, or take part in something
keep something at arm's length
To avoid becoming too close or too involved with someone or something.

Proverbs (20)

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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”).

somþyng Middle English sum Old English

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Topics

Grammar & Function Words

External links

# something

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** pron, adv
**IPA (US):** /ˈsʌm.θɪŋ/
**IPA (UK):** [ˈsɐm̥(p)θɪŋ]
**Frequency rank:** 101

## Meanings
1. A thing that is not named or not known exactly.
2. To some degree; a little.
3. A special quality that is hard to describe.
4. An impressive or remarkable person or thing.

## Examples
- I must have forgotten to pack something, but I can't remember what.
- The baby looks something like his father.
- She has a certain something that draws people to her.
- He's really something! I've never heard such a great voice.

## Derived Forms
- somethingburger
- somethingism
- somethingness
- somethingth

## Related Forms
- anything
- everything
- nothing
- somebody
- someone
- somewhere
- thing

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: somþyng
- Root: sum

## 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”).

## AI Etymology
Something is 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”). Important forms in the word's history include Middle English somþyng, Old English sum. In current use it includes senses such as A thing that is not named or not known exactly and To some degree; a little.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

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