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Glite Dictionary
📖 That thing 💬 Refers to situation ❓ Asks for choice
which

which

∞ 1.0
A word that refers to the whole previous idea or situation
  • pronoun
  • /wɪtʃ/
: lo que
  • Ask the students to imagine other ways in which a song collage could be created.
  • which in turn
  • which meant
  • which led

And if you can't, which is fine, learn from it.

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Examples

  • In this respect, natural gas is unlike oil, which is traded at the same price everywhere.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The British now rule an empire on which the sun never sets.

  • That is change of which we should all be proud.

  • Fear or faith, which will be our master?

  • So we'll start where we start, which is from the top.

  • However, we could find no previous study in which a link to cancer was identified.

    Academic text (2011)

  • All were started on the same dose, which is not normal practice in the UK.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Byers crafted the legislation creating the program, which is considered a model for other states.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Descriptive analyses examined the extent to which the core components of the model were delivered.

    Academic text (2011)

  • He said we should change our approach, which I completely agree with.

Idioms

every which way
  • Informal
16 4.9

In many different directions in a messy, random way

which way the wind is blowing
  • Informal
3 8.0

To find out what most people think before you act

which end is up
  • Informal
2 9.9

To know what is happening in a confusing situation

to know which end is up
  • Informal
1 7.8

To understand how things work in a place or job

every which where
  • Informal
1 9.6

In every possible place

to know which side your bread is buttered on
  • Informal
9.1

Act to protect your own interests

which way the cat jumps
  • Informal
9.9

To wait and see how a situation turns out before deciding

Surface Forms

which subject case
which object case
whose possessive determiner
whose possessive pronoun

Etymology

Which later took on the use of pointing back to a whole idea or event, not just a single thing. So when we say something like 'He forgot to set an alarm, which caused him to be late,' the which refers to the whole earlier statement.