what's up
∞
7.2
- idiom
- /wɑts ʌp/
- Informal
- What's up, Ahmed?
- hey, what's up
- hi, what's up
- yo, what's up
Examples
-
What's up, paisan?
-
Hey, folks, what's up?
-
All right, what is up, everybody?
-
When he heard this, he became worried sick, "Ah, I wonder what's up?"
Fiction book (1998) -
I asked one of the students I was standing in line with, "What's up with that?"
Blog text (9) -
- Hey, what's up, Molly?
-
One of his colleagues sidled up to him and said, "What's up, Crazy Eddie?"
Fiction book (1998) -
What's up, man?
-
Val and Earl freeze in their tracks and glance at each other, realizing instantly what's up.
Fiction book (1990) -
Hey, what's up?
Synonyms
19
9.9
A casual greeting that asks what is going on
17
9.1
A casual greeting asking how someone is or what's new
16
9.9
A casual way to ask someone how they are or what they are doing
11
8.5
To ask someone how they are when you meet them
7
9.6
A friendly joking greeting that asks how someone is, copying Bugs Bunny
6
9.9
A short informal greeting used to ask how someone is
5
9.9
A casual way to say hello to someone
Antonyms
- Informal
14
7.4
A phrase people say to tell others nothing interesting or worrying is happening
How Casual
- Slang
19
9.9
- Informal
17
9.1
- Informal
∞
7.2
- Formal
101
6.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although 'what's up' is logically built from 'what' (a question word) + 'up' (indicating a state or direction), its use as an informal greeting meaning 'what is happening/how are you' is a pragmatic idiom rather than a strictly compositional phrase. A B1 learner who knows the constituents might guess it is a casual question but would not reliably derive the conventional greeting sense without exposure to its conversational use, so the transparency is partial.
Etymology
What's up comes from a short form of what is up, an old way to ask 'what is happening' or 'how are you'. Think of up as asking what is 'going on' with someone, so today the phrase is a casual way to check on someone's news or feelings.