what about

idiom

: does that include (someone) : how about (someone)

"We're all going to the beach." "What about Kenny?"

: how does that affect (someone or something) : what should be done about (someone or something)

"I need to leave—something has come up." "What about the meeting?" "We'll have to reschedule it."

What about the people who can't afford health insurance?

—used to make a suggestion about what could be done

We'll need to talk about this again. What about (meeting) next week?

There's still time. What about playing another game?

—used to ask someone to tell one something in response to the thing that one has just said

I like skiing and hiking. What about you? What sports do you like?

Everyone else is coming. What about you?

Examples of what about in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web There are of course myriad zombie comedies, zombie action movies, and even zombie heist movies, but what about the zombie musicals (Anna and the Apocalypse), zombie family dramas (Maggie), or zombie political thrillers (Doomsday)? —

Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 26 Apr. 2024 While a whole other side was saying, well, wait a minute, what about Nicole Brown Simpson? —

NPR, 11 Apr. 2024 Those risks can be bacterial, as well as infectious diseases, such as HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B and C.3 And what about any claims that human milk has helped an adult recover from a cold? —

Tiffany Leigh, Parents, 15 Apr. 2024 Popular on Variety And what about Jupe’s experience working alongside the legendary Michael Douglas? —

Carla Renata, Variety, 15 Apr. 2024 The rare phenomenon could impact cell service, but what about renewable energy sources? April 8 total solar eclipse:Solar eclipse 2024 is today, April 8! —

Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 8 Apr. 2024 The rare phenomenon could impact cell service, but what about renewable energy sources? Turns out, the event will limit solar power generation across the country. —

Marina Johnson, The Indianapolis Star, 8 Apr. 2024 But what about vet offices that are closed for the eclipse — as Carlson's briefly was — or hard to get to on the day of the eclipse? —

Rachel Treisman, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024 So if Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas end up being among the less desirable places to go, what about just a little bit further north? —

Eric Henderson, CBS News, 6 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'what about.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.