neither here nor there

nei·ther here nor there

N n

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [nee-th er, nahy- heer nawr th air]
- /ˈni ðər, ˈnaɪ- hɪər nɔr ðɛər/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [nee-th er, nahy- heer nawr th air]
- /ˈni ðər, ˈnaɪ- hɪər nɔr ðɛər/

Definitions of neither here nor there words

adverb neither here nor there in this place; in this spot or locality (opposed to there): Put the pen here. 1
adverb neither here nor there to or toward this place; hither: Come here. 1
adverb neither here nor there at this point; at this juncture: Here the speaker paused. 1
adverb neither here nor there (used to call attention to some person or thing present, or to what the speaker has, offers, brings, or discovers): Here is your paycheck. My friend here knows the circumstances. 1
adverb neither here nor there present (used to answer a roll call). 1
adverb neither here nor there in the present life or existence (often followed by below): We want but little here below. 1

See all 20 definitions of neither here nor there

Information block about the term

Origin of neither here nor there

First appearance:

before 900

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 900; Middle English; Old English hēr; cognate with German hier, Old Norse, Gothic hēr

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Neither here nor there

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Neither here nor there

neither here nor there popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 100% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

neither here nor there usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for neither here nor there

adjective neither here nor there

immaterial — of no essential consequence; unimportant.
irrelevant — not relevant; not applicable or pertinent: His lectures often stray to interesting but irrelevant subjects.

adverb neither here nor there

impertinent — intrusive or presumptuous, as persons or their actions; insolently rude; uncivil: a brash, impertinent youth.
inapplicable — not applicable; unsuitable.
nonessential — not essential; not necessary: Nonessential use of gasoline was forbidden during the war.

All 5 Synonyms of neither here nor there

Matching words

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