whatcha

W4H4A1T1C3H4A1
UK/ˈwɒtʃə/UK/ˈwɒtʃjə/US/ˈwʌt͡ʃə/US/ˈwʌt͡ʃjə/

A form of what — Which, especially which of an open-ended set of possibilities.

UncommonScrabble 18

Meanings

contraction

alternative watcha · alternative wotcha · alternative wotcher · alternative whatchya · alternative whutcha

  1. abbreviationcolloquialcontractionContraction of what + are + you.

    Whatcha doin'?

    3 more examples

    Whatcha talking 'bout?

    Whatcha sayin'?

    There were plenty of ostentatiously noisy walkouts during the last half of Eric De Kuyper's Naughty Boys (Netherlands), which is understandable. On the other hand, I loved the film and found it continually fascinating, so whatcha gonna do?

    1986 February 1, Nicholas Deutsch, “7th Annual New York Gay Film Festival”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 28, page 8
  2. abbreviationcolloquialcontractionContraction of what + have + you.

    Whatcha been up to?

  3. abbreviationcolloquialcontractionContraction of what + do + you.

    Whatcha think?

    2 more examples

    Whatcha got there?

    Whatcha wanna do now?

  4. abbreviationcolloquialcontractionContraction of what + you.

    Do whatcha gotta do!

    2 more examples

    'Tain't whatcha do, it's the way thatcha do it.

    If you’re lookin’ but not seein’, here’s whatcha do

    1973 July, Toledo Hanson, “How to Be a Happy Spectator”, in Pete Szilagyi, editor, Motocross Action Magazine, Encino, Calif.: Hi-Torque Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 38, column 1

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kʷ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kʷís
  3. Proto-Germanic*hwat
  4. Proto-West Germanic*hwat
  5. Old Englishhwæt
  6. Middle Englishwhat
  7. Englishwhat
  8. Englishwhatcha

From what + -cha.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Sounds the same

watcherwotcher (UK, non-rhotic)
Cite this entry
APA

whatcha. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whatcha

MLA

“whatcha.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whatcha. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “whatcha,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whatcha.

Source: whatcha on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.