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.
And he also sees semis as possibly “the latest commodity to boom this year,” drawing what for bulls may be a worrying comparison to the performance of silver stocks — though with a four-month lag.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 29, 2026
He was earning what for the mid-Victorian era counted as a small fortune, but no fewer than four households of assorted relatives relied on his largesse.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
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
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was Alonso's race engineer in 2010, so knows plenty about what for him was an Abu Dhabi agony that still hurts today.
From BBC • Dec. 6, 2025
Then Ernestine came in, thus leaving Anne, the oldest, in what for her was a fairly familiar dilemma: whether to cast her lot with us or with the adults.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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.
