nowhere

no·where
N1O1W4H4E1R1E1
US/ˈnoʊ.(h)wɛɹ/UK/ˈnəʊ.wɛə/

adverb

In no place.

“We sat in traffic, going nowhere.”

Opposite

Meanings

adverbnowhere (not comparable)

alternative obsolete no where

  1. not comparableIn no place.

    The keys are nowhere in the house.

    1 more example

    Nowhere did the rules say anything about popcorn.

  2. not comparableTo no place.

    We sat in traffic, going nowhere.

    1 more example

    If you forget to do this, your interlock circuit won't be made and you'll be going nowhere.

adjectivenowhere (not comparable)

alternative obsolete no where

  1. not comparableUnimportant; unworthy of notice.

    Elinore was such a bitch, such a nowhere person.

    2008, Cricket Sawyer, Lavender Lust, →ISBN, page 180
    2 more examples

    As a foreign stamp gazette it is nowhere. An article on Stamp Collecting, by J. E. Gray, “reprinted from one of his books,” and a catalogue of stamps constitute its sole attraction. We are surprised to find such sounding pretentions so poorly supported.

    1872, “Reviews of Postal Publications”, in The Stamp-Collector's Magazine, volume 10, page 110

    He always allowed them to motivate him to a level of intensity to do better, rather than remain in a nowhere life in a nowhere place like Harlem.

    2012, Nicholas Borelli, Let No Man Be My Albatross, →ISBN, page 247
nounnowhere (plural nowheres)

plural nowheres · alternative obsolete no where

  1. No particular place, noplace.

    They went on a cruise to nowhere.

    4 more examples

    While they paced the platform of the station, they reviewed the career of misdemeanours—Nutley, Chiddiugstone, Midhurst, Penn, and many nowheres, and now Aylesbury.

    1912, Charles Inge, “Nemesis or Bad Luck?”, in The Windsor magazine, volume 36, page 95

    On a warm summer's evening On a train bound for nowhere I met up with the gambler

    1976, “The Gambler”, Don Schlitz (lyrics)

    Oh, not the middle of nowhere like the rest of Indiana, but a nowhere so flat and ugly you want to lie down in a ditch and never get up again.

    1996 Oct, Indianapolis Monthly, volume 20, number 2, page 115

    But some Nowheres do still exist and are there to be found by any genuinely free spirit willing to hook a caravan behind his four-wheel-drive and dream, say, of finding that isolated campsite beside an as yet undiscovered waterhole

    2005, Dave Finkelstein with Jack London and Philip Caputo, Greater Nowheres: Wanderings Across the Outback, page xxiv

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
Also see

Origin

  1. Old Englishnōhwēr
  2. Middle Englishnowher
  3. Englishnowhere

From Middle English nowher, from Old English nōhwēr, nāhwǣr, from nā- + hwǣr. By surface analysis, no + where. Adjective usage is taken from phrases like nowhere on the map (signifying the location was too small or too insignificant to be listed), nowhere you want to be, etc.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek μηδαμοῦ, οὐδαμοῦ
  • μηδαμοῦ (mēdamoû)in no place
  • οὐδαμοῦ (oudamoû)in no place
Arabic فِي لَا مَكَان, إِلَى لَا مَكَان
  • فِي لَا مَكَان (fī lā makān)in no place
  • إِلَى لَا مَكَان (ʔilā lā makān)to no place
Basque inon
  • inonin no place
Bengali কোথাও না
  • কোথাও না (kōthaō na)in no place
Bulgarian никъде́, наникъде
  • никъде́ (nikădé)in no place
  • наникъде (nanikăde)to no place
Catalan enlloc, enlloc
  • enllocin no place
  • enllocto no place
Chinese Mandarin 無處 /无处
  • 無處 /无处 (wúchù)in no place
Czech nikde, nikam
  • nikdein no place
  • nikamto no place
Danish ingensteds, intetsteds
  • ingenstedsin no place
  • intetstedsin no place
  • ingen vegneto no place
  • ikke fremadto no place
Dutch nergens, nergens heen
  • nergensin no place
  • nergens heento no place
  • nergens naartoeto no place
Esperanto nenie, nenien
  • neniein no place
  • neniento no place
Finnish ei missään, ei minnekään
  • ei missäänin no place
  • ei minnekäänto no place
  • ei mihinkäänto no place
French nulle part, nulle part
  • nulle partin no place
  • nulle partto no place
German nirgendwo, nirgends
  • nirgendwoin no place
  • nirgendsin no place
  • nirgendwohinto no place
  • nirgendshinto no place
Greek πουθενά, πουθενά
  • πουθενά (pouthená)in no place
  • πουθενά (pouthená)to no place
Hungarian sehol, sehová
  • seholin no place
  • sehováto no place
  • sehovato no place
Icelandic hvergi, ekki neins staðar
  • hvergiin no place
  • ekki neins staðarin no place
  • ekki nokkursstaðarin no place
Irish in áit ar bith
  • in áit ar bithin no place
Italian da nessuna parte, in nessun posto
  • da nessuna partein no place
  • in nessun postoin no place
  • da nessuna parteto no place
Japanese どこにも, どこへも
  • どこにも (dokonimo)in no place
  • どこへも (doko-emo)to no place
Korean 아무데도
  • 아무데도 (amudedo)in no place
Latin nullibi, nusquam
  • nullibiin no place
  • nusquamin no place
  • nequoto no place
Latvian nekur
  • nekurin no place
Lithuanian niekur
  • niekurin no place
Persian هیچجا, هیچکجا
  • هیچجا (hič-jâ)in no place
  • هیچکجا (hič-kojâ)in no place
  • تورقوزآباد (turquz-âbâd)in no place
  • هیچجا (hič-jâ)to no place
  • ناکجا (nâkojâ)to no place
Polish nigdzie, donikąd
  • nigdziein no place
  • donikądto no place
Portuguese em nenhum lugar, em lugar nenhum
  • em nenhum lugarin no place
  • em lugar nenhumin no place
Romanian nicăieri, niciunde
  • nicăieriin no place
  • niciundein no place
Russian нигде́, никуда́
  • нигде́ (nigdé)in no place
  • никуда́ (nikudá)to no place
Slovak nikde, nikam
  • nikdein no place
  • nikamto no place
  • nikdeto no place
Spanish en ninguna parte, en ningún lugar
  • en ninguna partein no place
  • en ningún lugarin no place
  • en ningún sitioin no place
  • por ningún ladoin no place
  • en ningún ladoin no place
  • a ninguna parteto no place
  • a ningún lugarto no place
  • a ningún ladoto no place
Swedish ingenstans, ingenstans
  • ingenstansin no place
  • ingenstansto no place
Ukrainian ніде́, нікуди́
  • ніде́ (nidé)in no place
  • нікуди́ (nikudý)to no place
Welsh yn unman, yn unlle
  • yn unmanin no place
  • yn unllein no place
  • nunllein no place
  • i unmanto no place
  • i unlleto no place
  • i nunlleto no place

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

nowhere. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nowhere

MLA

“nowhere.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nowhere. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nowhere,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nowhere.

Source: nowhere on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.