why

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈhwaɪ/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/hwaɪ, waɪ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(hwī, wī)

Inflections of 'why' (n): npl: whys

Collocations for "why"


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

WordReference English Collocations © 2026

why

ⓘMost examples are given in US English. We have labeled exceptions as UK.
adv
  1. why did she [go, try, do, say]?
  2. why not [go]?
  3. why not (indeed)?
  4. why are you [going]?
  5. why should I [care, bother, worry]?
  6. why (even) bother?
  7. why the hell (would you)?
  8. why haven't you [done, finished, cleaned] it?
  9. why does it (even) matter?
  10. why [believe, trust] her?
  11. yes, that [might] be why
  12. [explain, describe] why
  13. [think, believe] (that) I know why
  14. cannot [explain, understand] why
  15. am [curious, wondering] why
  16. have no idea why
  17. don't ask me why
  18. is [probably, most likely, possibly, certainly] why
  19. (know, is) the reason why
conj
  1. this is why I [think, want, believe]
  2. she [would like, wants] to know why you (didn't)
  3. it's anyone's guess why he [did, said] it
n
  1. the whys of the [world, operation, decision, procedure]
  2. the whys and why nots
  3. UK: the whys and wherefores of
  4. UK: forget about the whys (and wherefores)!
  5. UK: [figure, work, fathom] out the whys and wherefores
interj
  1. why, [certainly, of course]!
additional examples
  1. the whys of the [world, operation, decision, procedure]
  2. why did she [go, try, do, say]?
  3. the whys and why nots
  4. why not [go]?
  5. UK: the whys and wherefores of
  6. why not (indeed)?
  7. UK: forget about the whys (and wherefores)!
  8. why are you [going]?
  9. UK: [figure, work, fathom] out the whys and wherefores
  10. why should I [care, bother, worry]?
  11. why (even) bother?
  12. why the hell (would you)?
  13. why haven't you [done, finished, cleaned] it?
  14. why does it (even) matter?
  15. why [believe, trust] her?
  16. why it [might, should, would, could]?
  17. yes, that [might] be why
  18. this is why I [think, want, believe]
  19. [explain, describe] why
  20. why [certain, some, many] will [succeed, fail, grow]
  21. [think, believe] (that) I know why
  22. she [would like, wants] to know why you (didn't)
  23. cannot [explain, understand] why
  24. am [curious, wondering] why
  25. have no idea why
  26. don't ask me why
  27. is [probably, most likely, possibly, certainly] why
  28. it's anyone's guess why he [did, said] it
  29. (know, is) the reason why
  30. why, [certainly, of course]!
'why' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
about - actual - alone - always - anxiety - any - anyhow - anymore - appetite - argument - ashamed - ask - asleep - astonished - attachment - attitude - aware - awhile - bachelor - baffled - beforehand - beggar - beyond - bitch - blame - bossy - bring - but - cafeteria - care - chant - clearly - closely - clue - complicated - comprehend - comprehension - computer - conceive - conclusion - confuse - confusing - confusion - contemplate - cork - coward - coy - cranky - criticize - cruel

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