Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

or something

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.74 in modern English

Syllables: or -some-thing
IPA

17

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

phrase

Or something like that. Used to indicate the possibility that the preceding word or phrase is vague or not exactly correct in its applicability.

Informal

Example Sentences

"I think she's a lawyer or something."
"What are you doing?! Are you trying to kill us or something?"
"It's not like I hate parks or something; I just think it's too cold outside today."
"So basically sexperts are reporters about sex, rather than sex professionals. Or something."

Etymology

Ellipsis.

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

or anything (alternative)

Questions

What does or something mean?: Or something like that. Used to indicate the possibility that the preceding word or phrase is vague or not exactly correct in its applicability.
Where does or something come from?: Ellipsis.

How to pronounce or something

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “or something”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “or something”.
Repeat and practice — Say “or something” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.