something

somethingpronoun

1. a thing that is not named or not known, or whose identity does not matter

   Something is used mainly in positive statements to mean a particular but unnamed thing: something happened. In questions and negative sentences, anything is usually used instead: did anything happen?, not did something happen?, unless the speaker has a particular thing in mind.

   • Something smells wonderful in the kitchen.
   • I need to tell you something important.
   • There is something wrong with the printer.
   • Let's get something to eat.

   Collocations

   phrase something else, or something

   Antonyms nothing

   Compare anything (anything is used mainly in questions and negatives; something is used mainly in positive statements)

   For translators (sense 1)

   Grammar trap Something usually shifts to anything when a sentence becomes a question or a negative (Something happened becomes Did anything happen?), but something is kept when the speaker has a particular thing in mind.

See also anything