1a thing that is unspecified or unknown:we stopped for something to eatI knew something terrible had happenedsomething about her frightened me
2used in various expressions indicating that a description or amount being stated is not exact:a wry look, something between amusement and regretgrassland totalling something over three hundred acresthere were something like fifty applications
adverb
[as submodifier]
1 informal used for emphasis with a following adjective functioning as an adverb:my back hurts something terriblehe used to take the mickey out of me something awful
2 archaic or dialect to some extent; somewhat:the people were something scared
Phrases
or something
informal added as a reference to an unspecified alternative similar to the thing mentioned:you look like you just climbed a mountain or something
quite (or really) something
informal something considered impressive or notable:Want to see the library? It’s really something
something else
informal an exceptional person or thing:the reaction from the crowd was something else
something like
1an amount in the region of:there were something like 50 applications
2rather like:they taste something like swordfish
something of
to some degree:Richard was something of an expert at the game
—— is worth considering; there is some truth in ——:people think I’m stupid because I think there’s something in this alien business
thirty-something (forty-something, etc.)
informal an unspecified age between thirty and forty (or forty and fifty, etc.):a forty-something has-been rock star [as noun]:she writes a column geared to twenty- and thirty-somethings
