pronoun / determiner / noun / interjection / adverb

what

WUT/wʌt/

Asks which thing, kind, or degree is meant.

What tool should I choose from these unfamiliar ones on the table?

A person points uncertainly at several unfamiliar tools on a table while asking a nearby helper to identify the correct thing.

Etymology

Old English hwæt already asked about things in abstraction. The selected meaning preserves that function: it asks for the identity of a thing or things.

In context

James Veitch2:45

"What do you need from me?"

The Agony of Trying to Unsubscribe | James Veitch | TED

James B. Glattfelder3:22

So what do we know about complex systems?

James B. Glattfelder: Who controls the world?

More examples

Do you know what she wants for dinner?
"What?" he asks, unable to hear her.
To what extent does the new rule affect us?

Forms

what · whats

Similar words

which: Usually asks for a choice from a limited set.
how: Asks about manner or degree rather than identity.