William ShakespeareThomas Hardy
Examples of whether in a Sentence
P. D. James, The Private Patient, 2008
In his later years, Turing turned to the question of whether machines could be made to think the central question of artificial intelligence.
—Chuck Leddy, Boston Globe, 15 Jan. 2006
If you tell me that something is a pleasure, I do not know whether it is more like revenge, or buttered toast, or success, or adoration, or relief from danger, or a good scratch.
—C. S. Lewis, An Experiment in Criticism, 1961
I don't know whether they were invited.
She was uncertain whether to go or stay.
Pronoun
… we did not indeed know where it was, and so we might get a great deal, or a little, we did not know whether; …
—Daniel Defoe, The Adventures of Captain Singleton, 1720
Aaron Kinney, The Mercury News, 23 Feb. 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'whether.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Pronoun and Conjunction
Middle English, from Old English hwæther, hwether; akin to Old High German hwedar which of two, Latin uter, Greek poteros, Old English hwā who — more at who
Conjunction
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Pronoun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Articles Related to whether
Dictionary Entries Near whether
Cite this Entry
“Whether.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whether. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
whether
conjunction
More from Merriam-Webster on whether
Nglish: Translation of whether for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of whether for Arabic Speakers
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