Nobody means not a single person, or no one at all. When you walk into an empty classroom and nobody is there, you don't see a single student or teacher. When a teacher asks “Who forgot their homework?” and nobody raises their hand, not one person admits to forgetting.

The word often appears in statements about what didn't happen: “Nobody laughed at my joke” means zero people found it funny. “Nobody believed me” means not a single person trusted what you said. You might say “There's nobody home” when your whole family is out.

Nobody can also mean a person without importance or recognition. In this sense, it's a noun. When someone says “I'm a nobody,” they mean they're not famous or influential. A character in a story might go from being a nobody to becoming a hero everyone knows.

The word carries emotional weight. Saying “Nobody cares” feels stronger and lonelier than saying “People don't care.” Using nobody emphasizes the complete absence: not just a few people missing, but every single person.

Notice that nobody is always singular, even though it refers to many people not being present. You say “Nobody is here,” not “Nobody are here,” because you're talking about the absence of even one person.