Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

someone

/ˈsʌmwʌn/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.63 in modern English

Syllables: some-one
IPA: /ˈsʌmwʌn/

9

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

pron

One or some person of unspecified or indefinite identity.

noun

A partially specified but unnamed person.

noun

An important person.

Example Sentences

"Can someone help me, please?"
"Can you get me someone more knowledgeable?"
"Do you need a gift for that special someone?"
"His ultimate concern is with being and beings, with saying something about something and not with the someones who say it and hear it—and not even with the someones whose beings are in conflict about beings in their being."
"It had never happened, it wasn't that there hadn't been any 'someones', there had actually been numerous 'someones', but not one that had gotten between him and his work."
"Or rather, to someone. Many someones, in fact. But which someones? Well, the someones that benefited while wage controls were in place had to be people for whom salary was not the primary form of income."

Etymology

From Middle English sum on, sum one, sum oon, equivalent to some + one.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: sum on

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈsʌmwʌn/
British English: /ˈsʌmwʌn/

Inflected Forms

some one (alternative, obsolete) some1 (alternative, Internet) someones (plural)

Phrases

no one

Frequently Paired Words

anybody anyone no one everyone something somebody somewhere

Synonyms

anybody anyone somebody Some translation dictionaries have used the abbreviation s.o. so for someone person individual mortal soul

Questions

How do you pronounce someone?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsʌmwʌn/.
What does someone mean?: One or some person of unspecified or indefinite identity.
Where does someone come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce someone

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