Word Frequency
why (waɪ
)
Definitions
adverb
-
- for what reason, purpose, or cause? ⇒
why are you here?
- (used in indirect questions) ⇒
tell me why you're here
- for what reason, purpose, or cause? ⇒
pronoun
- for or because of which ⇒
there is no reason why he shouldn't come
noun
Word forms: plural whys
- usually plural the reason, purpose, or cause of something (esp in the phrase the whys and wherefores)
exclamation
- an introductory expression of surprise, disagreement, indignation, etc ⇒
why, don't be silly!
Word Origin
Old English hwī; related to Old Norse hvī, Gothic hveileiks what kind of, Latin quīTranslations for 'why'
- British English: why You use why when you are asking about the reason for something.Why did you do it?waɪ ADVERB
- Arabic: لـِمَاذا
- Brazilian Portuguese: Porquê?
- Chinese: 为什么
- Croatian: zašto
- Czech: proč
- Danish: hvorfor
- Dutch: waarom
- European Spanish: por qué
- Finnish: miksi
- French: pourquoi
- German: warum
- Greek: γιατί
- Italian: perché
- Japanese: なぜ
- Korean: 왜
- Norwegian: hvorfor
- Polish: dlaczego
- Portuguese: por que motivo
- Romanian: de ce
- Russian: почему
- Spanish: por qué
- Swedish: varför
- Thai: ทำไม
- Turkish: niçin
- Ukrainian: чому
- Vietnamese: tại sao
Example Sentences Including 'why'
But they certainly made enough of an impression for listeners to see why Wilson should have become so intrigued by the technique.Irish Times (2002)
Every day the tape in the answering machine was crammed with important people asking why she hadn't returned their calls.THE EXECUTION (2002)
Extraverts are more interested in doing than in working out why.BEYOND FEAR (2002)
He got up, wondering why he felt relieved at the interruption.YESTERDAY'S SHADOW (2002)
It was not immediately clear why there had been no previous reports of the hostage taking.Glasgow Herald (2001)
Justice sees no injustice in taking its time, which is one reason why judges rarely die of heart failure.YESTERDAY'S SHADOW (2002)
Marco Guarino, his solicitor, told the sheriff he could offer the court no reason why his client had failed to appear.Glasgow Herald (2001)
The other question, of course, is why something is being done now.Irish Times (2002)
Wine stains leather irremediably, so I thought why not try using it as a dye?Country Life (2004)
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