Standard Lemma guide

nobody

noun · pron · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈnəʊ.bɒd.i/ stressed form, UK
  • /ˈnəʊ.bə.di/ stressed form, UK
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /ˈnoʊˌbʌd.i/ stressed form, US
  • /ˈnoʊ.bɑ.di/ stressed form, US
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US, unstressed: /ˈnoʊ.bə.di/
  • CMU ARPABET: N OW1 B AA2 D IY2 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: N OW1 B AH0 D IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A person dismissed as unimportant.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: zero, nonentity, loser, absolute zero, assbucket, asswipe, badling, blatherskite, bugger, carrion, cipher, cockstain, crumb, custron, dandiprat, doink, dirtbag, douchebag, drop kick, fellow, fritlag, fuckbucket, geek, good-for-naught, good-for-nothing, gooey, hoon, lidderon, losel, louse, maggot, ne'er-do-well, nobody, no-good, no-mark, nonce, nought, nowmun, pelf, pig dog, pile of shit, pissant, punk, puny, quat, ramp, rinky-dink, roly-poly, scullion, shicer, shitheap, slubberdegullion, sparrow-fart, streak of piss, toerag, truant, twerp, wankstain, waste of space, underperson, unworthy

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Something that has no body or an especially small one.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

pron

Meaning 3

Not any person; the logical negation of somebody.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • I asked several people, but nobody knew how.
  • As nobody who is not blind can have failed to notice, I had my hair cut just yesterday.
  • Nobody phoned, did they?

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

a person of no influence

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cipher, cypher, nonentity

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: commoner, common man, common person

Narrower terms: pip-squeak, squirt, small fry, whippersnapper, jackanapes, lightweight

History

Etymology

From Middle English nobody, no-body, no body. By surface analysis, no (“none, not any”, adjective) + body (“one, person, individual”).

Across languages

Translations

62 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Breton: den ebet — unimportant person
  • Bulgarian: нищожество (ništožestvo) — unimportant person
  • Catalan: ningú — unimportant person
  • Chinese Mandarin: 無名小卒 /无名小卒 (wúmíng xiǎozú) — unimportant person
  • Czech: nýmand — unimportant person
  • Danish: nul — unimportant person
  • Dutch: niemand — unimportant person
  • Dutch: schertsfiguur — unimportant person
  • Dutch: nul — unimportant person
  • Finnish: tuntematon — unimportant person
  • French: quidam — unimportant person
  • French: moins-que-rien — unimportant person
  • French: nullité — unimportant person
  • French: sous-merde — unimportant person
  • French: nul — unimportant person
  • French: zéro — unimportant person
  • Galician: ninguén — unimportant person
  • German: Niemand — unimportant person
  • Greek: πουθενάς (pouthenás) — unimportant person
  • Greek: τιποτένιος (tipoténios) — unimportant person
  • Greek: ασήμαντος (asímantos) — unimportant person
  • Hungarian: senki — unimportant person
  • Hungarian: nímand — unimportant person
  • Irish: neamhdhuine — unimportant person
  • Italian: nessuno — unimportant person
  • Italian: nullità — unimportant person
  • Italian: zero assoluto — unimportant person
  • Italian: uomo da niente — unimportant person
  • Latin: terrae filius — unimportant person
  • Māori: kurumetometo — unimportant person
  • Māori: roromore — unimportant person
  • Māori: ware — unimportant person
  • Māori: mōri — unimportant person
  • Norwegian Bokmål: null — unimportant person
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: null — unimportant person
  • Portuguese: joão-ninguém — unimportant person
  • Portuguese: zé-ninguém — unimportant person
  • Portuguese: ninguém — unimportant person
  • Portuguese: nulidade — unimportant person
  • Romanian: nimeni — unimportant person
  • Romanian: nulitate — unimportant person
  • Romanian: zero — unimportant person
  • Russian: ничто́жество (ničtóžestvo) — unimportant person
  • Serbo-Croatian: нико и ништа (niko i ništa) — unimportant person
  • Serbo-Croatian: нико (niko) — unimportant person
  • Slovak: niktoš — unimportant person
  • Spanish: nadie — unimportant person
  • Spanish: don nadie — unimportant person
  • Spanish: donnadie — unimportant person
  • Spanish: doñanadie — unimportant person
  • Spanish: doña nadie — unimportant person
  • Spanish: pelagatos — unimportant person
  • Spanish: pelafustán — unimportant person
  • Spanish: pelagallos — unimportant person
  • Spanish: andoba — unimportant person
  • Spanish: andobas — unimportant person
  • Spanish: andóbal — unimportant person
  • Spanish: el último mono — unimportant person
  • Spanish: cero absoluto — unimportant person
  • Spanish: mindundi — unimportant person
  • Swedish: ingen — unimportant person
  • Swedish: nolla — unimportant person
Real reading context

nobody in complete knowledge articles