what

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈhwɒt/

US:USA pronunciation: IPAUSA pronunciation: IPA/hwʌt, hwɑt, wʌt, wɑt; unstressed hwət, wət/

US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(hwut, hwot, wut, wot; unstressed hwət, wət)


Collocations for "what"


Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word "what" in context.

WordReference English Collocations © 2026

what

ⓘMost examples are given in US English. We have labeled exceptions as UK.
pron
  1. (do not) know what to [do, say, make]
  2. what can you [do]?
  3. what will he [do] (next)?
  4. what about [him, that]
  5. what's [new, hot, trendy]
  6. what's new in [gadgets, the cinema, fashion]
  7. (don't) [get, know, understand] what [you mean, happened]
  8. what the [hell, heck]?
  9. offensive: what the f***?
  10. what in [the hell, the name of, hell's name, heaven's name]
  11. what on earth [were you thinking, are you doing, do you mean]?
  12. what's your [problem, beef]?
  13. what's [wrong, happening, bothering you]?
  14. what do you [do, like, think]?
  15. was wondering what you [do]
  16. what did you say?
  17. and (do) you know what?
  18. let's see what that [noise, sound, crash] was
  19. that's (exactly) what I [thought, said]
  20. doesn't matter what I [say, do]
  21. [discover, research, found, determine] what caused it
  22. what?
  23. so what (if)
adj
  1. what [a great day, an amazing meal, a nice man]
  2. what a [fantastic, great] idea!
  3. what rotten [luck, weather]!
  4. what job do you do?
  5. what [music, food] do you like?
adv
  1. what do you care?
additional examples
  1. (do not) know what to [do, say, make]
  2. what can you [do]?
  3. what will he [do] (next)?
  4. what about [him, that]
  5. what's [new, hot, trendy]
  6. what's new in [gadgets, the cinema, fashion]
  7. (don't) [get, know, understand] what [you mean, happened]
  8. what the [hell, heck]?
  9. offensive: what the f***?
  10. what in [the hell, the name of, hell's name, heaven's name]
  11. what on earth [were you thinking, are you doing, do you mean]?
  12. what's your [problem, beef]?
  13. what's [wrong, happening, bothering you]?
  14. what do you [do, like, think]?
  15. was wondering what you [do]
  16. what did you say?
  17. what [a great day, an amazing meal, a nice man]
  18. and (do) you know what?
  19. let's see what that [noise, sound, crash] was
  20. that's (exactly) what I [thought, said]
  21. doesn't matter what I [say, do]
  22. [discover, research, found, determine] what caused it
  23. they don't know what's what
  24. what a [fantastic, great] idea!
  25. what rotten [luck, weather]!
  26. what job do you do?
  27. what [music, food] do you like?
  28. what do you care?
  29. what?
  30. so what (if)
'what' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Christmas - Earth - Easter - French - God - Halloween - I - ID - Lent - Lord - SAT - SOB - TV - aback - abbreviation - about - absence - accent - accomplishment - account - accuse - achieve - acknowledge - actually - address - adorable - adventure - advertisement - advice - advise - affordable - afraid - after - afterwards - again - age - agenda - agree - alarm - ale - aliment - allure - almost - already - amateur - amazed - amazing - amount - amusement - amusing

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