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RELATED WORDS

location, point, position, site, situation, spot, station, locus

Nearby words

  1. whene'er,
  2. whenever,
  3. whensoever,
  4. whenua,
  5. whenwe,
  6. where are the snows of yesteryear?,
  7. where do we go from here,
  8. where it's at,
  9. where one is coming from,
  10. where one lives

Idioms

    where it's at, Slang. where the most exciting, prestigious, or profitable activity or circumstance is to be found.

Origin of where

before 900; Middle English quher, wher, Old English hwǣr; cognate with Dutch waar, Old High German hwār; akin to Old Norse hvar, Gothic hwar
Can be confusedwe're were wherewhere wherefore (see usage note at the current entry)

Usage note

Where … at ( Where was he at? ) and where … to ( Where is this leading to? ) are often criticized as redundant because neither at nor to adds anything to the meaning of where, and sentences like the preceding ones are perfectly clear and standard without the final at or to. This criticism does not apply to where … from, which is fully standard: Where does the money come from? The constructions where … at and where … to occur in the speech of educated people but are rare in formal speech and edited writing.

where's

[ hwairz, wairz ]
/ ʰwɛərz, wɛərz /

contraction of where is: Where's my belt?
contraction of where has: Where's he been all night?
contraction of where does: Where's he study law?

Usage note

See contraction.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for where

where

/ (wɛə) /

adverb

  1. in, at, or to what place, point, or position?where are you going?
  2. (used in indirect questions)I don't know where they are
in, at, or to which (place)the hotel where we spent our honeymoon
(subordinating) in the place at whichwhere we live it's always raining

noun

(usually plural) a question as to the position, direction, or destination of something

Word Origin for where

Old English hwǣr, hwār (a); related to Old Frisian hwēr, Old Saxon, Old High German hwār, Old Norse, Gothic hvar

usage

It was formerly considered incorrect to use where as a substitute for in which after a noun which did not refer to a place or position, but this use has now become acceptable: we now have a situation where/in which no further action is needed
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for where

where

adv.

Old English hwær, hwar, from Proto-Germanic *khwar (cf. Old Saxon hwar, Old Norse hvar, Old Frisian hwer, Middle Dutch waer, Old High German hwar, German wo, Gothic hvar "where"), from PIE interrogative base *qwo- (see who).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with where

where

In addition to the idioms beginning with where

  • where do we go from here
  • where it's at
  • where one is coming from
  • where one lives
  • where there's a will, there's a way
  • where there's smoke

also see:

  • close to home (hit where one lives)
  • fools rush in where angels fear to tread
  • give credit (where credit is due)
  • know where one stands
  • let the chips fall where they may
  • not know where to turn
  • put one's money where one's mouth is
  • take up where one left off
  • tell someone where to get off
  • this is where I came in
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.