Nowhere Meaning
/ˈnoʊ.(h)wɛɹ/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
advIn no place.
advTo no place.
Sentence Examples
Can I stay at your place? I have nowhere to go.
Now that I notice it, I have nowhere to run.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The lost hiker found ____ to shelter from the storm because the area was completely barren.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He looked everywhere for his keys, but they were ____ to be found in the house.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
"Elinore was such a bitch, such a nowhere person."
— 2008, Cricket Sawyer, Lavender Lust, →ISBN, page 180:
"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:
"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):
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The lost hiker found ____ to shelter from the storm because the area was completely barren.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He looked everywhere for his keys, but they were ____ to be found in the house.