Definitions for WHY
ʰwaɪ, waɪWHY

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. why, wherefore(noun)

   the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase `the whys and wherefores'

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. why(Noun)

   The reason.

   A good article will cover the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how.

2. why(Adverb)

   For what cause, reason, or purpose.

   Why did you do that?

3. why(Conjunction)

   The reason that.

   I don't know why he did that.

4. why(Interjection)

   Exclamation of mild surprise.

   Why, I think it would work fine!

Webster Dictionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Why(adverb)

   for what cause, reason, or purpose; on what account; wherefore; -- used interrogatively. See the Note under What, pron., 1

   Etymology: [OE. whi, why, AS. hw, hw, instrumental case of hw, hwt; akin to Icel. hv why, Dan. & Sw. hvi; cf. Goth. hw. . See Who.]

2. Why(adverb)

   for which; on account of which; -- used relatively

   Etymology: [OE. whi, why, AS. hw, hw, instrumental case of hw, hwt; akin to Icel. hv why, Dan. & Sw. hvi; cf. Goth. hw. . See Who.]

3. Why(adverb)

   the reason or cause for which; that on account of which; on what account; as, I know not why he left town so suddenly; -- used as a compound relative

   Etymology: [OE. whi, why, AS. hw, hw, instrumental case of hw, hwt; akin to Icel. hv why, Dan. & Sw. hvi; cf. Goth. hw. . See Who.]

4. Why(noun)

   a young heifer

   Etymology: [OE. whi, why, AS. hw, hw, instrumental case of hw, hwt; akin to Icel. hv why, Dan. & Sw. hvi; cf. Goth. hw. . See Who.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Why

   "Why" is the first solo single by the Scottish singer Annie Lennox, released in 1992. It was taken from her debut solo album Diva and reached no.5 in the United Kingdom and number thirty-four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The single also reached no.6 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart. The music video won Lennox an award for Best Female Video at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Why

   hwī, adv. and conj. for what cause or reason? on which account: wherefore.—interj. used us an expletive or exclamation.—n. Why′-not (obs.), a dilemma.—Why, so (Shak.), an expression of unwilling consent.—The cause why, The reason why, the reason why a thing is, or is to be done; The why and wherefore, the whole reason. [A.S. hwí, hwý, instrumental case of hwá, who.]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. why

   The reason.

   We knew why and it was accepted.

   Submitted by MaryC on March 20, 2020  

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. WHY

   What does WHY stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the WHY acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'WHY' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #193

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'WHY' in Written Corpus Frequency: #134

3. Adverbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'WHY' in Adverbs Frequency: #29

Anagrams for WHY »

1. Hwy.

How to pronounce WHY?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say WHY in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of WHY in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of WHY in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of WHY in a Sentence

1. Ann Marie Duda:

   We all love New Jersey, we're all from New Jersey, everything here is about New Jersey, while we were waiting, why was' New York, New York' playing ?

2. Alicia Olive:

   There's a reason why I'm still here today, there's a reason.

3. Kyle Kashuv:

   I asked why I was there.

4. Billy West:

   I said to my mom: Mom, it looks like he's going to turn into a werewolf, you know, because it was like (Lon Chaney Jr.'s Wolf Man) Larry Talbot turning into the werewolf, you know, that's what it looked like to me. So that's why I gave him that sort of thing.

5. Richard McLaren:

   The process by which those decisions were made, who made them, why did they make them and why did other cities not get selected, needs to be investigated.

Images & Illustrations of WHY

Popularity rank by frequency of use