some

1 of 6

adjective

ˈsəm 

 for sense 2 without stress 

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 (such 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

some

2 of 6

pronoun

ˈsəm 

singular or plural in construction

1

: one indeterminate quantity, portion, or number as distinguished from the rest

2

: an indefinite additional amount

ran a mile and then some

some

3 of 6

adverb

ˈsəm 

ˌsəm

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

Using Some as an Adverb: Usage Guide

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

-some

4 of 6

adjective suffix

: characterized by a (specified) thing, quality, state, or action

awesome

burdensome

cuddlesome

-some

5 of 6

noun suffix

: group of (so many) members and especially persons

foursome

-some

6 of 6

noun combining form

1

: body

chromosome

2

: chromosome

monosome

Synonyms

Adjective

• anonymous
• certain
• given
• one
• unidentified
• unnamed
• unspecified

Adverb

• about
• approximately
• around
• like
• more or less
• much
• near
• plus or minus
• roughly
• say

Examples of some in a Sentence

Adjective

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.

Adverb

Would you like some more potatoes?

I need to work on it some more.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adverb

The 100-mile-wide crater was formed by an asteroid impact some 3.5 to 3.8 billion years ago. —Tom Hawking, Popular Science, 11 July 2024

Pending ratification, that agreement includes wage increases, health and pension benefits and artificial intelligence protections for some 50,000 members of the union, which has never gone on strike in its 131-year history. —Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2024

By mid-2006, monitoring and enforcement had improved dramatically: in June of that year, the MDS cut some half a million ineligible recipients from its rolls. —Jonathan Tepperman, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2015

If that wasn’t enough action for anyone yet, flames erupted on stage to heat up the atmosphere some more. —Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English som, adjective & pronoun, from Old English sum; akin to Old High German sum some, Greek hamē somehow, homos same — more at same

Adjective suffix

Middle English -som, from Old English -sum; akin to Old High German -sam -some, Old English sum some

Noun suffix

Middle English (northern dialect) -sum, from Middle English sum, pronoun, one, some

Noun combining form

New Latin -somat-, -soma, from Greek sōmat-, sōma

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Pronoun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing some

• a matter of some concern
• and then some
• at some time or other
• by some distance
• by some miracle
• for (quite) some time
• for some reason or another
• for some reason or other
• for some strange reason
• for some/whatever reason
• get/catch some sun
• give/cut (someone) some slack
• have some surprises up their sleeves
• in some senses
• knock some sense into someone
• knock some sense into someone's head
• lose (some) weight
• make some allowance for
• or some such
• put some daylight between
• put some muscle into
• quite some time
• raise some hackles
• some distance
• some kind/sort/type of
• some other
• some people/guys have all the luck
• some time ago
• take some beating
• take some doing
• take some getting used to
• talk (some) sense into/to
• with some justification

Kids Definition

some

1 of 4 adjective

ˈsəm 

 for sense 2b  səm,

 without stress 

1

: being one unknown, unnamed, 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

some birds can't fly

b

: being of an unspecified amount or number

give me some water

have some apples

3

: worthy of notice or consideration

that was some party

some

2 of 4 pronoun

ˈsəm 

1

: a part or quantity of something

some of the milk

some of the apples

2

: an indefinite additional amount

ran a mile and then some

some

3 of 4 adverb

ˈsəm 

ˌsəm

1

: reasonably close to : about

some eighty houses

2

a

: somewhat entry 2

felt some better

b

: to some degree

the cut bled some

-some

4 of 4 adjective suffix

səm

1

: having the quality or nature of the thing specified

burdensome

2

: causing a (specified) feeling or condition

fearsome

Etymology

Adjective suffix

Old English -sum "having a particular quality, action, or effect"