Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

what with

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 6.25 in modern English

Syllables: what with
IPA

20

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

prep

Owing to; because of; as a result of (used typically to introduce several causes of something)

Informal

Example Sentences

"She was sleeping very badly these days, what with the new baby and all the activity surrounding him."
"What with it being too late and raining, we decided to stay home."
"Her half-brother had now ample means again, but what with debts and what with new madness wasted them most fearfully again."
"It’s amazing that Plato, Aristotle and Socrates got any philosophizing done at all, what with all the lewd and lascivious behavior going on."
"It was hard to take him seriously, though, what with his multi-colored eye makeup."

Usage

Informal

Questions

What does what with mean?: Owing to; because of; as a result of (used typically to introduce several causes of something)

How to pronounce what with

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “what with”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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