# nowhere

/ˈnoʊˌwɛɹ/ (US) · /nˈəʊweə/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/nowhere
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. in or to no place

adverb · CEFR A2

not in any place, or not going to any place.

For teachers: in, at, or to no place; used as a negative locative adverb.

- I looked for my keys for an hour, but they were nowhere to be found.
- The investigation led the detectives nowhere, as every potential witness claimed to have seen nothing unusual that night.

### 2. a remote place

noun · CEFR B1

a place that is very far away from other houses or cities.

For teachers: a remote, isolated, or non-existent place; frequently used in the idiomatic phrase 'middle of nowhere'.

- Their car broke down in the middle of nowhere with no phone signal.
- The research station was located in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by hundreds of miles of uninhabited tundra.

### 3. unimportant

adjective · CEFR C1 · Informal

not important or not leading to any success.

For teachers: lacking importance, status, or a clear future; often used to describe jobs or situations with no prospects.

- He felt stuck in a nowhere job with no chance of a promotion.
- After years of playing in nowhere towns for tiny audiences, the band finally signed a major recording contract.

Usage: Usually placed before the noun it describes.

## Examples

- I looked for my keys but they were nowhere to be found.
- The nearest gas station was miles away and there was nowhere to stop for food along the dark highway.
- Despite an exhaustive search of the digital archives, the original manuscript was nowhere to be seen, leading historians to believe it had been destroyed during the fire.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.