some

1 of 6

adjective

ˈsəm How to pronounce some (audio)
 for sense 2 without stress 
Synonyms of somenext
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 How to pronounce some (audio)
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 How to pronounce some (audio)
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

Adverb

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

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
Workers will reach the $25 hourly pay rate over a number of years, and some sooner than others. —Calmatters, Orange County Register, 22 June 2024 In Louisville, Kentucky, about ten miles from Southern Seminary, Pastor Linda Barnes Popham had been happily leading Fern Creek Baptist, a quiet congregation of some hundred mostly elderly members. —Eliza Griswold, The New Yorker, 12 June 2024 The scene arrives after some 40 minutes of almost meditative woodland wandering broken up with occasional bursts of carnage, though the film has saved its most inventively, anatomically extreme mayhem for the centerpiece to come. —A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 31 May 2024 The projectile fired from Kosmos 2543 at a relative velocity of some 400 mph (700 km per hour), according to McDowell's analysis of publicly available satellite tracking data. —Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 23 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for some 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'some.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of some was before the 12th century

Phrases Containing some

Dictionary Entries Near some

-some

some

somebody

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Some.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/some. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.

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Kids Definition

some

1 of 4 adjective
ˈsəm How to pronounce some (audio)
 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 How to pronounce some (audio)
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 How to pronounce some (audio)
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"

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