What does what mean?
What means (interrogative) Which, especially which of an open-ended set of possibilities..
What
/wɒt/ · determiner
Meaning
(interrogative) Which, especially which of an open-ended set of possibilities..
Definitions by Sense
- (interrogative) Which, especially which of an open-ended set of possibilities.
- (indirect interrogative) Which.
- (relative) Any ... that; all ... that; whatever.
- Emphasises that something is noteworthy or remarkable in quality or degree, in either a good or bad way; may be used in combination with certain other determiners, especially 'a', less often 'some'.
- (interrogative) Which thing, event, circumstance, etc.: used in asking for the specification of an identity, quantity, quality, etc.
- (fused relative) That which; those that; the thing(s) that.
- (fused relative) Anything that; all that; whatever.
- (relative, nonstandard) That; which; who.
Example Sentences
What colour are you going to use?
What time is it?
What kind of car is that?
Did you buy the groceries? — With what money? We barely have any left.
Everyone always asks what my advice is, and my advice is don’t overintellectualize your art.
I wonder what colour he is going to use.
I know what colour I am going to use.
That depends on what answer is received.
Synonyms for what
Antonyms for what
Related Words
Word Forms
- wha
- wat
- whats
Usage Notes
Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.
Practice and Learn More
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a synonym for what?
Common synonyms include what-what, wot, come again, pardon.
What is the opposite of what?
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
How do you use what in a sentence?
What colour are you going to use?
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.