What does "whats" mean?

plural of what; used as a stand-in to collectively pluralize arbitrary instances of things. Often used along with whys, hows, etc.

What is a synonym for "whats"?

Common synonyms include: eh, blimey, bloody hell, bloody nora, blow me tight, blow me up.

noun

noun ·1 syllable ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
plural of what; used as a stand-in to collectively pluralize arbitrary instances of things. Often used along with whys, hows, etc. form-of, plural
"Shall I continue this reproaching style, quote all the whats and whys out of Jeremiah's Lamentations, and then present you with some outlines of Job for consolation?"

"A child who has just learned to talk will badger his parents with "whys" and "whats"."

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.