anyonean‧y‧one /ˈeniwʌn/ ●●● S1 W1 pronoun 
Anyone could win tonight. They offer help and advice to anyone interested in becoming a teacher. If anyone sees Lisa, ask her to call me. Anyone else who is interested in going on the trip should see me at the end of this lesson.2used in questions to mean ‘someone’: Does anyone want a drink? Is there anyone new coming to tonight’s meeting? Do you know anyone else who wants a ticket?3used in negative sentences to mean no person: I went to the bar but there wasn’t anyone there. I haven’t spoken to anyone all day.4anyone? used after mentioning something to show that you think it is not a good thing: I think people are dressing way too casually. I mean, shorts in the office, anyone?USAGE: Anyone or any one?• Anyone is written as one word in this meaning: · I didn't see anyone.✗Don't write: I didn't see any one.• Any one of is usually written as separate words. You usually write: · The same is true for any one of us.• You don't usually use of after anyone.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Anyone can learn to swim in just a few lessons.
- Anyone foolish enough to believe in horoscopes needs a brain transplant.
- Is anyone home?
- Is anyone new coming to tonight's meeting?
- Why would anyone want to do that?
Longman Language Activatorany one of the people in a group or in the world
use this to talk about each person in a group of people when it is not important to say exactly which one: any/man/child/teacher etc: · Ask any teacher and they'll tell you I'm right.· Any student who wishes to go on the trip should sign this list.any of the men/their children/my teachers etc: · Have any of the guests arrived?· Jan decided not to invite any of her relatives to her graduation.any of you/them/us: · Have any of you seen my glasses?
· Don't worry about it. It can happen to anybody.· Did anyone call while I was out?· If anybody needs more information, come and see me after class.· Sarah liked him more than anyone else she knew.· This would be an ideal job for anyone who speaks French and Italian.
informal anyone in the world, used especially when you mean that you should be more careful about who you choose or allow to do something: · Any Tom, Dick, or Harry could have written something just as good.· If you don't have someone at the door, any Tom, Dick or Harry could turn up at the party and walk straight in.
any person -- use this when the identity of the person is not important or is not known: · Whoever you ask, you will get the same answer.· Sam wanted to feel that others, no matter who they were, agreed with him.· If someone comes to your door you should always ask for some form of identification, no matter who they say they are.
if you say that any fool or any idiot can do something, you mean that anyone can do it because it is extremely easy, and if someone cannot do it they must be very stupid: · Any fool could see that the child was unhappy.
to be very easy to do spoken informal · If you can learn Japanese, learning French should be a piece of cake.· Don't worry about the exam. It'll be a cinch!be a cinch to learn/drive/use etc · My new car's a cinch to drive, compared to the old one.
British informal /be a snap/a breeze American informal · "You passed your driving test?'' "Yes -- it was a doddle!''· Managing a team of businessmen is a snap compared to a team of twelve-year-olds.a doddle/snap/breeze to do something · It's a snap to make this sauce if you have a few basic ingredients in the cupboard.
use this when saying that something is surprisingly easy for someone to do, or that something is very easy compared to something else: · Persuading people to give away their money is child's play when you know how.· Life today is child's play compared to how it was 100 years ago.
spoken say this when it is easy for you to do something, even though other people think it is difficult: · "Oh, great! You've fixed the washing machine." "Yeah, there was nothing to it, really."
use this to say that something is so easy that everyone could do it: · Anyone can learn to cook.· I don't know why you think you're so clever -- anyone can do that.· Politicians insist that there are plenty of jobs and that anyone can get one if they really try.
someone who is a pushover is very easy to defeat, persuade etc: · The kids all think their new English teacher's a real pushover.be no pushover (=not be easy to defeat, persuade etc): · Colonel Moore was no pushover. He wouldn't let anyone tell him what to do.
spoken extremely easy: · Sally smiled to herself. It was easy to attract men. Like taking candy from a baby.
unable to escape use this to emphasize that something is more important or happens more with one particular thing than any others: · This disease mostly affects women, particularly women over 50.· Paris is always full of tourists, especially during the summer months.especially/particularly if/when: · Allow plenty of time for your visa to be processed, especially if you are applying by mail.especially/particularly good/important/difficult etc: · This is a particularly good example of the problem we've been discussing.
spoken especially - used in conversation: · I bought it specially for you.· We specially wanted to see the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre.specially if/when: · You really need a car - specially when you live a long way from the nearest town.
use in particular to mention one person or thing that is more important or more interesting than all similar things: · Mary loves most classical music, in particular Bach and Vivaldi.· Kids in particular will love the rides and shows.anything/anyone/anywhere etc in particular: · Was there anything in particular that you wanted to talk about?
use above all to emphasize that something is more important than all the other things you have mentioned: · Get plenty of sleep, eat lots of good food, and above all try to relax.· John felt sad, embarrassed, but above all angry that Anna could treat him like this.
more than anything or anyone else: · Swimming and soccer are fun, but I like dancing most of all.· He was friendly and intelligent, but most of all he was a good worker.· Out of everybody at school she was the person who helped me most of all.
especially not: · She told no one, least of all her husband, what she planned to do.· Nobody wants to stop you from following the career of your choice, least of all me.
formal use this to say that someone or something is an important example of what you are talking about: · The use of illegal drugs - notably marijuana - has increased in recent years.most notably: · A number of respected philosophers, most notably Leibniz, criticized Newton's theories.
spoken more than anyone else - use this when someone has said or done something you think is very surprising or unlikely for them to do or say: · You of all people shouldn't be calling him worthless.· Why is Jennifer Stern, of all people, so important?
more than any other person: · You more than anyone should know how difficult it is to raise a child alone.· Freud, more than anyone, was responsible for the establishment of psychology as a science.
if you give special or particular care, attention, or interest to something, you give it more attention than usual or more attention than you give anything else: special/particular care/attention/interest: · You should pay particular attention to spelling.· Special care must be taken to reward children appropriately for good behavior.
when you think that something will happen or is true because of the way something seems · Judging by Michael's expression I'd say he wasn't in a very good mood today.· She looks like a student, judging from the number of books she's carrying under her arm.· Going by the quality of the runners, I think this week's 800 metres final could produce a new Olympic record.
use this to say that something seems to be true because of the way someone or something looks or the way they do something: · It was clear from the way Dorothy spoke that she was worried about something.· From the way the body was lying, I'd say it was suicide.
use this when you want to say that someone is making a situation seem much more serious or important than it really is: · He's only cut his finger but you'd think he was bleeding to death, the amount of noise he's making.· Mary's spent at least three days cleaning up and preparing the meal -- anyone would think she was expecting royalty!
: from somebody's face/voice/clothes etc use this to say that because of the way someone's face etc looks or sounds, something seems to be true: · From his voice I'd say he was born somewhere in the North of England.· She looked from her clothes like some kind of high-powered executive.
to deliberately not tell someone a secret · I'm leaving next month to start another job, but don't tell anyone just yet.· She knew she had cancer, but she didn't tell anyone.
to not tell other people about something or not let them find out about it: · He said it was vital to keep Operation Beehive secret.· It was impossible for the affair to be kept secret.keep sth (a) secret from: · At first I tried to keep my illness a secret from my wife.
to not tell anyone anything at all about something, because it is very important that no one knows about it: · It's supposed to be a big surprise, so don't breathe a word.· Don't worry, I won't tell a soul about any of this.
to not tell anyone about something that you know is happening, especially something that other people would disapprove of because it is slightly illegal or unfair: keep quiet about: · I wish I'd kept quiet about the money.· We'd better keep quiet about this for now.keep it quiet: · We can give you a 10% raise, but not the others -- so keep it quiet, won't you?
to not tell other people something that someone has told you, or something that you have found out about: · Don't tell Sam -- he's incapable of keeping anything to himself.· Branson knew who the killer was, but had kept it to himself for twenty years.
to deliberately not tell someone something that you know, especially because you are worried about telling them, or because it might upset them: · If a patient is dying, I don't think doctors have a right to keep it from them.· I've tried to ask her what's worrying her, but she says it's nothing. I'm sure she's keeping something from me.
to not tell someone certain facts about something when telling them everything else about it: keep something back: · I got the feeling he was keeping something back.keep back something: · Although most of the facts were published the government kept back certain details that might prove embarrassing.keep something back from somebody/keep back something from somebody: · I must now confess something which I kept back from you earlier.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Anyone else who is interested in going on the trip should see me at the end of this lesson. Do you know anyone else who wants a ticket?COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Hardly anyone (=almost no one) writes to me these days. Was there anything in particular that you wanted to talk about?
Anyone else who is interested in going on the trip should see me at the end of this lesson. Do you know anyone else who wants a ticket? Hardly anyone (=almost no one) writes to me these days. Was there anything in particular that you wanted to talk about?· If anyone doesn’t like it, they can leave.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1used to refer to any person, when it is not important to say exactly who: - A woman like her ... To hear him talk, anyone would think she was some kind of Jezebel on the make.
- Really, Tom, the way you're defending her, anyone would think I'd tortured the girl!
- The way he went on anyone would think we were engaged in an exact science.
- To hear you talk, anyone would think I was some kind of wanton, a man-stealer.
Anyone could win tonight. They offer help and advice to anyone interested in becoming a teacher. If anyone sees Lisa, ask her to call me. Anyone else who is interested in going on the trip should see me at the end of this lesson.2used in questions to mean ‘someone’: Does anyone want a drink? Is there anyone new coming to tonight’s meeting? Do you know anyone else who wants a ticket?3used in negative sentences to mean no person: I went to the bar but there wasn’t anyone there. I haven’t spoken to anyone all day.4anyone? used after mentioning something to show that you think it is not a good thing: I think people are dressing way too casually. I mean, shorts in the office, anyone?USAGE: Anyone or any one?• Anyone is written as one word in this meaning: · I didn't see anyone.✗Don't write: I didn't see any one.• Any one of is usually written as separate words. You usually write: · The same is true for any one of us.• You don't usually use of after anyone.