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?
Explanation
Whatnot is another word for odds and ends. Whatnot also means etcetera, so it often comes at the end of a list. On top of a dresser, there might be souvenirs, snow globes, a collection of porcelain pigs, and whatnot. Whatnot has always referred to knickknacks, but a whatnot used to be the name of the shelves to put those knickknacks on. Whatnot can also be the little doodads themselves. You can use this word to indicate additional things of any kind that you don’t feel like naming. At the zoo, you might see lions, zebras, giraffes, and whatnot. In those cases, whatnot means a bunch of other stuff that’s like the stuff mentioned.
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.
AI has the ability to be a Ph.D. in your pocket, a doctor in your pocket, an analyst in your pocket, an accountant, and whatnot.
From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026
We’d often visit our family farm, where my extended family raised pigs, ducks, chickens and whatnot.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
So you have these young people going to these executives saying, “You can do this and not do that,” and whatnot.
From Slate • Feb. 21, 2026
“We still have a footprint there in Venezuela, in terms of operating bases and whatnot, and so getting equipment there to work is fairly straightforward,” he says on a call with analysts.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026
“Don’t tell anyone I told you. But, Max—remember. Find out how to get around the whatnot rules. Find me if it comes to that next fall.”
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
