Wherewithal

//ˈwɛɚ.wɪ.ðɔl// adv, noun

adv, noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The ability and means required to accomplish some task. countable, uncountable

    "I would like to help your project, but I do not have the wherewithal."

  2. 2
    the necessary means (especially financial means) wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    In what way; how. archaic, not-comparable

    "Wherewithall shall a yong man cleanse his way? by taking heede thereto according to thy word."

  2. 2
    By means of which. archaic, not-comparable

    "Rich. Northumberland, thou Ladder wherewithall / The mounting Bullingbrooke aſcends my Throne"

Synonyms

All synonyms
abilityand penceassetsbalancebank accountbottom dollar

Example

More examples

"Regrettably, he lacks the financial wherewithal to run a presidential campaign."

Etymology

From where- + withal. Originally only an adverb, nominal use since ca. 1800.

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