wherewith

[ wair-with, -with, hwair- ]

/ wɛərˈwɪθ, -ˈwɪð, ʰwɛər- /

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See synonyms for wherewith on Thesaurus.com

adverb, conjunction

Literary. with which; by means of which.

Archaic.

with what?
because of which; by reason of which.
whereupon; at which.

pronoun

Archaic. that by which; that with which.

noun

Rare. wherewithal.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.

Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

true

false

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Origin of wherewith

First recorded in 1150–1200, wherewith is from the Middle English word wherwith.See where, with

Words nearby wherewith

whereto, whereunto, whereupon, where've, wherever, wherewith, wherewithal, wherret, wherrit, wherry, whet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use wherewith in a sentence

Five hundred of our fighting men are running to and fro between cliffs and sea carrying stones wherewith to improve our pier.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Approaching a native hut to ask for a piece of charcoal wherewith to light a cigar, he happened to look inside.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
Our gunners had put more than they could afford into the bombardment and had very little wherewith to pave the way.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Behold, when the wall is fallen: shall it not be said to you: Where is the daubing wherewith you have daubed it?
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various

He had no good sword wherewith to defend himself were he attacked, no good, solid ground on which to take his stand.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for wherewith

wherewith

/ (wɛəˈwɪθ, -ˈwɪð) archaic, or formal /

pronoun

(often foll by an infinitive) with or by whichthe pen wherewith I am wont to write

something with whichI have not wherewith to buy my bread

adverb

with what?

sentence connector

with or after that; whereupon

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

wherewith

Origin of wherewith

Words nearby wherewith

Words related to wherewith

How to use wherewith in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wherewith