whereabouts
Americanadverb
conjunction
noun
adverb
-
Also: whereabout. at what approximate location or place; where
whereabouts are you?
-
obsolete about or concerning which
noun
Etymology
Origin of whereabouts
1400–50; late Middle English wheraboutes, equivalent to Middle English wheraboute ( see whereabout) + -s -s 1
Explanation
Your whereabouts are the place you are right now. When your dog gets lost, your family might form a search party to discover his whereabouts. Officially, the noun whereabouts can be treated as singular or plural, but it's more common to use it as plural. News stories about escaped prisoners or criminals on the run often mention that their whereabouts are unknown, and parents who like to keep tabs on a teenager's whereabouts sometimes buy her a cell phone. The earliest use of whereabouts, one sometimes used today, was as an interrogative adverb: "Whereabouts will you be this afternoon?"
Vocabulary lists containing whereabouts
Dear Martin
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"Stone Fox" by John Reynolds Gardiner
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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.
The agency has said Tehran has provided no information on its whereabouts nor on whether it is operating.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026
In the bodycam footage, a police officer can be heard asking Nowak: "You've been stabbed, whereabouts?" before adding: "Don't think you have, mate."
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
Days later, the El Dorado Sheriff’s Department issued a public appeal for any information about his whereabouts.
From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2026
His whereabouts are known by the loathsome twin giant worms, a brother and sister, who took over the planet Nal Hutta after the slaying of its gangster boss, Jabba the Hutt.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
“We’re not on speaking terms. I don’t keep track of the whereabouts of Lucinda the Idiot. Watch that bowl!”
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
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.
