some
some Lexical Profile
some Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
An unspecified amount or number of a noun, used as a determiner before uncountable or plural countable nouns.
"Please buy some fresh fruit and milk while you are at the grocery store."
Used before a singular countable noun to refer to an unknown, unspecified, or particular person or thing.
"There must be some logical explanation for why the server crashed."
Remarkable, impressive, or notable (used informally for emphasis, sometimes ironically).
"That was some thunderstorm we had last night."
• pronoun
An unspecified number or portion of people or things, often a part of a larger whole.
"Many students applied for the fellowship, and some were selected for interviews."
• adverb
Used before a numerical quantity to mean approximately or about.
"Some fifty researchers attended the annual symposium in Geneva."
North American To a small or moderate extent; somewhat (used informally).
"Traffic has slowed down some since the morning rush hour ended."
Word Nuance & Usage
In standard grammar, 'some' is primarily used in affirmative statements and offers or requests where a positive answer is expected, whereas 'any' is preferred in negative statements and open questions.
• Rhymes for some
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'sum' (a certain, one, some), derived from Proto-Germanic *sumaz and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *sem- meaning 'one' or 'together' (cognate with English 'same' and Latin 'semel').