amount to anything

Meanings

1. 1phraseidiominformal

   To become successful or important, or to turn out to have real value.

   Grammar: Subject is usually a person: she will amount to something, but the version with anything is mostly negative or questioning.

   Patterns

   • amount to anything
   • never amount to anything

   His teachers feared he would never amount to anything.

   Will this small idea ever amount to anything?

   She worked hard to prove she could amount to anything she wanted.

2. 2phraseidiom

   To have any real significance or effect, or to be worth something.

   Grammar: Used about plans, promises or results: the talks did not amount to anything.

   Patterns

   • not amount to anything

   The rumors did not amount to anything.

   Months of talks never amounted to anything.

   I doubt this complaint will amount to anything.

Word forms

Common combinations

never amount to anything

He was told he would never amount to anything.

doubt it will amount to anything

I doubt it will amount to anything.

hardly amount to anything

His efforts hardly amounted to anything.

not amount to anything

The investigation did not amount to anything.

Synonyms and how they differ

succeed

Succeed is neutral and direct, whereas amount to anything sounds like a judgment of someone's future.

come to anything

Come to anything is nearly identical in meaning and is more common in British English.

make something of yourself

Make something of yourself stresses personal effort, while amount to anything judges the result.

Opposites

Word family

amount noun

a quantity of something

amount to phrasal verb

to add up to, or to be equal to

amounting adjective

adding up

Commonly confused: amount to anything or amount to something?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “amount to anything”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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