Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - anywhere

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. You use anywhere in statements with negative meaning to indicate that a place does not exist. I haven’t got anywhere to live... There had never been such a beautiful woman anywhere in the world. ADV: ADV after v, be ADV, oft ADV cl/group 2. You use anywhere in questions and conditional clauses to ask or talk about a place without saying exactly where you mean. Did you try to get help from anywhere?... If she wanted to go anywhere at all she had to wait for her father to drive her. ADV: ADV after v, be ADV, from ADV, oft ADV cl/group 3. You use anywhere before words that indicate the kind of place you are talking about. He’ll meet you anywhere you want... Let us know if you come across anywhere that has something special to offer. = anyplace ADV: ADV cl/group 4. You use anywhere to refer to a place when you are emphasizing that it could be any of a large number of places. Rachel would have known Julia Stone anywhere. ...jokes that are so funny they always work anywhere. ADV: ADV after v, be ADV c darkgreen]emphasis 5. When you do not want to be exact, you use anywhere to refer to a particular range of things. His shoes cost anywhere from $200 up... My visits lasted anywhere from three weeks to two months. ADV: ADV from/to n, ADV between pl-n, ADV up 6. You use anywhere in expressions such as anywhere near and anywhere close to to emphasize a statement that you are making. There weren’t anywhere near enough empty boxes... ADV: ADV adj/adv c darkgreen]emphasis 7. If you say that someone or something is not getting anywhere or is not going anywhere, you mean that they are not making progress or achieving a satisfactory result. The conversation did not seem to be getting anywhere... PHRASE: V inflects