some
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About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.1some
adjective \ˈsəm, for 2 without stress\Definition of SOME
1
: being an unknown, undetermined, or unspecified unit or thing <some person knocked>
2
a : being one, a part, or an unspecified number of something (as a class or group) named or implied <some gems are hard> b : being of an unspecified amount or number <give me some water> <have some apples>
3
: remarkable, striking <that was some party>
4
: being at least one —used to indicate that a logical proposition is asserted only of a subclass or certain members of the class denoted by the term which it modifies
See Examples of SOME
- Can I have some water?
- She had some interest in the job.
- I have some money left, but not much.
- I hope I've been of some help.
- We met some years ago.
- He spoke at some length about his problems.
Origin of SOME
Middle English som, adjective & pron., from Old English sum; akin to Old High German sum some, Greek hamē somehow, homos same — more at same
First Known Use: before 12th century
Related to SOME
- Synonyms
- anonymous, given, one, certain, unidentified, unnamed, unspecified
2some
pronoun, singular or plural in construction \ˈsəm\Definition of SOME
1
: one indeterminate quantity, portion, or number as distinguished from the rest
2
: an indefinite additional amount <ran a mile and then some>
First Known Use of SOME
before 12th century
3some
adverb \ˈsəm, ˌsəm\Definition of SOME
1
: about <some 80 houses> <twenty-some people>
2
a : in some degree : somewhat <felt some better> b : to some degree or extent : a little <the cut bled some> <I need to work on it some more> c —used as a mild intensive <that's going some>
Usage Discussion of SOME
When some is used to modify a number, it is almost always a round number <a community of some 150,000 inhabitants> but because some is slightly more emphatic than about or approximately it is occasionally used with a more exact number in an intensive function <an expert parachutist, he has some 115 jumps to his credit — Current Biography>. When some is used without a number, most commentators feel that somewhat is to be preferred. Their advice is an oversimplification, however; only when some modifies an adjective, usually a comparative, will somewhat always substitute smoothly. When some modifies a verb or adverb, and especially when it follows a verb, substitution of somewhat may prove awkward <Italy forced me to grow up some — E. W. Brooke> <I'm not a prude; I've been around some in my day — Roy Rogers> <here in Newport, both Southern Cross and Courageous practiced some more — W. N. Wallace>.
Examples of SOME
- Would you like some more potatoes?
- I need to work on it some more.
First Known Use of SOME
before 12th century
Related to SOME
- Synonyms
- about, around, like, more or less, much, near, plus or minus, roughly, say, approximately
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Next Word in the Dictionary: -some (adjective suffix)
Previous Word in the Dictionary: sombrous
All Words Near: some
Previous Word in the Dictionary: sombrous
All Words Near: some
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