what
- pronoun
- /wʌt/
- Can you tell me what you think about this idea?
- What happened
- What do you mean
- What do you think
OK, so I mean, what did we learn?
- OK, so I mean, what did we learn?
- And that's when we started to think, what if she doesn't?
- And so you have to start with, what is his vision?
- So the voice says, what do you see?
- But my sister, yeah, you know, what was I talking about?
- So for the caller, what is his why?
- And so I said, well, what do I know that?
- Well, you know, what's up, what's going on?
- My quads was beefy, you know what I'm saying?
Examples
-
So again, you know, what does this mean?
-
OK, so I mean, what did we learn?
-
And so you have to start with, what is his vision?
-
Well, do you know what else came out this year?
-
And I was like, "What? What are you talking about?"
-
Did you get to say what you wanted to say?
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All right, let's see what it's good for.
-
My first step was to find out more about what it was like to be blind.
Academic text (2011) -
Can you tell me what's so good about fat?
-
If there is intelligent life in the universe, what might these aliens be like?
Academic text (2011)
Synonyms
To ask someone to explain how or why something is true
Idioms
- Informal
A short cry to show surprise, confusion, disbelief, or casual acceptance
- NSFW
A joke phrase people say after someone says something that can sound sexual
- Informal
A humorous remark to greet someone who arrives unexpectedly or looking messy
- Offensive
A joke reply that mentions someone's mother to tease them about sex
Try many different ideas to find one that works
- Informal
Things that rise will later fall, for example prices or fortunes
- Informal
A short phrase people use to show surprise or disbelief without a bad word
To say someone has a very bad idea as if they are not thinking clearly
Say this when someone acts very differently, as if they are a different person
How Disbelieving
Surface Forms
Etymology
What comes from the old English word hwæt, meaning 'what' or 'which', and it belongs to the family of question words like who, where, and when. So using what in a question asks for information or details about a thing.