what for
Idioms-
For what purpose or reason, why, as in I know you're going to England, but what for? [Mid-1700s]
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A punishment or scolding, as in You'll get what for from Mom if she catches you smoking , or The teacher really gave Bud what for . [ Colloquial ; second half of 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They wrote: “Mortgage costs are a decisive factor in consumers’ assessment of their ability to make what for many Americans amounts to the most meaningful purchase of their lives.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 20, 2026
In Obama’s White House, he suffered what for him might have been the severest penalty — being ignored.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026
The Justice Department said the paint job wasn’t a certainty and argued there was no reason for a judge to police what for now remains a hypothetical project.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 16, 2025
She was determined to shine a light on what, for many Americans on both sides of the color line, is a hidden and forgotten history.
From Salon • Dec. 13, 2025
If I tell her that I want to spend some time with a friend, she asks me what for and says she doesn’t want me in other people’s cocinas, which is stupid.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
