some

A nonzero, unspecified proportion of (a bounded set of countable things): at least two.

Adverb

  1. Of a measurement: approximately, roughly.
    • I guess he must have weighed some 90 kilos.
    • Some 30,000 spectators witnessed the feat.
    • Some 4,000 acres of land were flooded.

    Synonyms: -ish about all but almost approaching around by and large circa close close to essentially for all practical purposes fornigh give or take imprecisely just about kind of loosely more or less nearly near nearabout nigh on odd

  2. To a certain extent, or for a certain period.
    • They walked some and talked some. - 2014, C. R. Scott, Invisible War: Attack the Covenant:
  3. Somewhat, a little.
    • I felt some better and continued taking the preparation through all that day, still ad libitum, and by evening, twenty-four hours after I began its use, felt considerably improved. - 1899, Columbus Medical Journal: A...
    • Have felt some better to-day than yesterday but not quite normal. A little nervous all day. Slept better than previous night, but not so well as usual, for about 7 hrs. - 1912, Mary Theodora Whitley, An Empirical Study...
    • "She's some better," the pilot said, "but it'll be a long convalescence. Pierre's taking real good care of her. Ongola's a rock, as always, and if Joel would only stop yapping about losing so much cargo..." - 2002...

Origin

From Middle English som, sum, from Old English sum (“some, a certain one”), from Proto-West Germanic *sum, from Proto-Germanic *sumaz (“some, a certain one”), from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one, whole”). Cognate Scots sum, some (“some”), North Frisian som, sam, säm (“some”), West Frisian sommige, somlike (“some”), dialectal Dutch som, saom (“some”), standard Dutch sommige (“some”), Low German somige (“some”), German dialectal summige (“some”), Danish somme (“some”), Swedish somlig (“some”), Norwegian sum, som (“some”), Icelandic sumur (“some”), Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌼𐍃 (sums, “one, someone”). More at same.

Forms

som som' sum

Related

quantifier

Determiner

  1. A nonzero, unspecified proportion of (a bounded set of countable things): at least two.
    • Near-synonym: any
    • Some people like camping.
    • Many people, especially some evangelical Christians, have been less than optimistic about the Potter influence. - 2006, Charles H Lippy, Faith in America [Three Volumes] [3 Volumes]: Changes, Challenges, New Directions,...

    Synonyms: any

    Antonyms: zero no a lot of many numerous countless

    Hypernyms: multiple various

    Coordinate Terms: one

  2. A nonzero, unspecified quantity or number of (an unbounded set of countable things).
    • Near-synonym: any
    • Would you like some grapes?
    • The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track.[…]Their example was followed by others at a time...

    Synonyms: any

    Antonyms: zero no a lot of many numerous countless

    Hypernyms: multiple various

    Coordinate Terms: one

  3. An unspecified amount of (something uncountable).
    • Near-synonym: any
    • Would you like some water?
    • After some persuasion, he finally agreed.

    Synonyms: any

    Antonyms: zero no

  4. A certain, an unspecified or unknown.
    • I've just met some guy who said he knew you.
    • The sequence S converges to zero for some initial value v.
    • By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in...
  5. A considerable quantity or number of.
    • He had edited the paper for some years.
    • He stopped working some time ago.
    • […] I took it, in the hope that it was not intended for early use, and would not be missed for some time. - 1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, chapter II, in Great Expectations […], volume I, London: Chapman...
  6. Approximately, about (with a number).
    • She has worked at the company for some thirty years now. (31 and two months, to be exact.)
    • There were only some three or four cars in the lot at the time.
    • What other natural experiments might we have to test climate sensitivity? Another one that happens every year is the change in seasons. Winter predictably follows summer, being some fifteen degrees colder in the...
  7. Emphasizing a number.
    • She has worked at the company for some five years now! How remarkable!
  8. A remarkable.
    • He is some acrobat!
    • That was some speech you gave!

Forms

som som' sum

Antonyms

many much no

Derived

all and some and then some at some point bang some heads together buy some time by some distance come get some for some reason for some time get some if ever there were some in some places of some use other some othersome quite some show some skin snag some z's somebody some day someday somedays somedeal some few

Pronoun

  1. A certain number (multiple but not all).
    • Some enjoy spicy food, others prefer it milder.
    • Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary...
  2. An indefinite quantity.
    • Can I have some of them?
  3. An indefinite amount; a part. Used mostly with abstract and nonliving objects.
    • Please give me some of the cake.
    • Everyone is wrong some of the time.
  4. Someone, a certain person.
    • Euery counseller extolleth counsell; but there is some that counselleth for himselfe. - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ecclesiasticus 37:7:

Forms

som som' sum

Synonyms

a few

Antonyms

many much none