Meanings
- Considering what limited worth this advice, opinion, or suggestion might have for you; used to soften the presentation of unsolicited advice or information that may not be relevant.
“Well,” said he, “I have a suggestion to make, for what it’s worth.”
1908, Armand Both, The Half-smart Set, Frederick A. Stokes Company, page 2763 more examples
Take my advice for what it’s worth—don’t marry Garth: marry some old fool.
1877, Julian Hawthorne, Garth, page 343There were seven of us from America, and, for what it’s worth, I thought it was a fairly impressive group.
1999, Bruce Northam, Brad Olsen, In Search of Adventure: A Wild Travel Anthology, →ISBN, page 21For what it’s worth, the same holds true for fish bowls: overfill and you’ll suffocate the guppies.
2005, Jennifer Rosen, Waiter, There’s A Horse In My Wine, →ISBN, page 253Synonyms: FWIW
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseConsidering what limited worth this advice, opinion, or suggestion might have for you; used to soften the presentation of unsolicited advice or information that may not be relevant.
Origin
The phrase may have originally been used to qualify a statement of advice, opinion, or suggestion by referring to such a statement and describing it separately from making it.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish mitä arvoa tällä onkaan
- mitä arvoa tällä onkaanconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
French pour ce que cela vaut, pour ce que ça vaut
- pour ce que cela vautconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
- pour ce que ça vautconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
German übrigens, nur nebenbei bemerkt
- übrigensconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
- nur nebenbei bemerktconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
- falls es Sie interessiertconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
- ich möchte mich nicht aufdrängen, aber...considering what limited worth this advice may have
- Sie haben mich nicht nach meinem Rat gefragt, aber...considering what limited worth this advice may have
- es mag keine weitere Bewandtnis haben, aber...considering what limited worth this advice may have
Hungarian egyébként, ha netán ez segít (valamelyest)
- egyébkéntconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
- ha netán ez segít (valamelyest)considering what limited worth this advice may have
- nem tudom, segít-e bármit isconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
- (már) ha ez jelent/számít valamitconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
Italian valga quel che valga, varrà quel che varrà
- valga quel che valgaconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
- varrà quel che varràconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
- valga quel che può valereconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
Lithuanian jei ką
- jei kąconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
Polish żeby nie było
- żeby nie byłoconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
Portuguese valha o que valha, valha o que valer
- valha o que valhaconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
- valha o que valerconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
Russian за что купил, за то и продаю, как бы там ни было
- за что купил, за то и продаю (za što kupil, za to i prodaju)considering what limited worth this advice may have
- как бы там ни было (kak by tam ni bylo)considering what limited worth this advice may have
Spanish si te sirve de algo, por si sirve / vale de algo
- si te sirve de algoconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
- por si sirve / vale de algoconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
- por lo que sirva / valgaconsidering what limited worth this advice may have
Cite this entry
for what it's worth. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20what%20it's%20worth
“for what it's worth.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20what%20it's%20worth. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “for what it's worth,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20what%20it's%20worth.
Source: for what it's worth on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.