whatnot
Americannoun
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a stand with shelves for bric-a-brac, books, etc.
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something or anything of the same or similar kind.
sheets, pillowcases, towels, napkins, and whatnot.
noun
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Also called: what-d'you-call-it. informal a person or thing the name of which is unknown, temporarily forgotten, or deliberately overlooked
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informal unspecified assorted material
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a portable stand with shelves, used for displaying ornaments, etc
Etymology
Origin of whatnot
First recorded in 1530–40; from the phrase what not?
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.
There are symbols and whatnot that you are gifted with that may not make sense on a conscious level, or they may.
From Los Angeles Times
“Tigers? What nonsense. Go back to your books and globes and whatnots, what? The attic is no place for singing.”
From Literature
“You can keep your whatonyms and whatnots. My business is profit, and when I see an opportunity to make some, I act upon it.”
From Literature
Or, ‘Who thought this was an oldie?’ or whatnot,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times
“I think it’s nice to have rest and kind of let everybody take a deep breath and rest up or whatnot,” shortstop Mookie Betts said.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
