Where it sits
A real, old word that dictionaries tag as informal: fine to say, best kept out of formal writing.
What it doesn't mean
It is centuries old. Merriam-Webster dates its first known use to the 13th century, in an older sense.
It's an old English adverb ending, the same one found in always and nowadays. What made anyways informal is usage, not a grammar error.
What it really means
Anyways is one of those words people say all day and then doubt the moment they have to type it.
It's real. As checked in October 2026, Merriam-Webster lists it with the label US, informal, meaning "anyhow, anyway". Cambridge gives it as US and informal. The Collins English Dictionary entry, shown on Dictionary.com, calls it a nonstandard word for anyway. So the dictionaries agree on the facts and differ only on how sternly they phrase the label.
It's also old, much older than its casual sound suggests. Merriam-Webster's first known use is from the 13th century, in an older sense now marked archaic: anywise, in any way at all. Etymonline dates the form, built from anyway, to the 16th century.
The extra -s isn't a typo or a childish add-on. It's an old adverb ending, which Etymonline calls the adverbial genitive. You use it every day without noticing in always and nowadays. English kept those words in the standard language and let anyways drift into informal speech. There's no deeper logic than that: it's a matter of which forms the written standard happened to keep.
In speech, anyways does a useful job, especially at the start of a sentence, where it means "moving on" or "back to the point", and it is widely understood.
The practical advice: in an essay, a report, a cover letter or anything formal, write anyway. In conversation, texts and dialogue, anyways is a centuries-old word in good standing in everyday speech.
Where it comes from
English — in any manner
the old adverbial genitive ending, as in always, nowadays, besides
Etymonline explains the -s as an adverbial genitive. It's the same old ending that survives in standard words like always and nowadays — so anyways is not a random extra letter.
- 13th century
Merriam-Webster's first known use for anyways, in the now-archaic sense 'anywise' (in any way at all).
- 16th century
Etymonline's date for anyways, formed from anyway with the adverbial -s.
- Today
Merriam-Webster labels the everyday sense 'US, informal'; Cambridge too gives it as US and informal.
In real life
- "Anyways," she said, after a long pause, "how was your weekend?"
- The forecast said rain; they went to the beach anyways, and it didn't rain once.
- In his texts it's always 'anyways'; in his reports to the board it's always 'anyway'.
Questions
Q01Is anyways a real word?
Yes. Merriam-Webster and Cambridge both list it, labelled US and informal, and Collins calls it a nonstandard word for anyway. It's real and common in speech; it's just not the standard written form.
Q02Is it anyway or anyways?
In writing, anyway. In casual speech, especially in American English, anyways is common and perfectly understood.
Q03Why does anyways have an s?
The -s is an old adverb ending, called an adverbial genitive, which also appears in always and nowadays. Etymonline dates anyways to the 16th century, and Merriam-Webster finds it, in an older sense, as early as the 13th.
Sources
- anyways — Merriam-Webster.
- anyways — Cambridge Dictionary.
- anyways — Dictionary.com (with Collins English Dictionary entry).
- anyways — Online Etymology Dictionary.