whereat

W4H4E1R1E1A1T1
/wɛəɹˈæt/

conjunction

At (the place or point) which; towards which.

UncommonScrabble 13

Meanings

conjunction
  1. archaicAt (the place or point) which; towards which.

    Albeit I think Ye have caught the mark whereat my heart is bent.

    1865, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Chastelard, page 78
    1 more example

    John Howard Parnell translated a white bishop quietly and his grey claw went up again to his forehead whereat it rested.

    1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 10: Wandering Rocks]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], page 238
  2. archaicAt the occasion of which, about which; whereupon.

    Whereat in a moment of cross unruth He thought, “All right if you want the truth!”

    2020 May 15, Robert Frost, Delphi Complete Works of Robert Frost (Illustrated) (Delphi Poets Series), Delphi Classics, →ISBN, →OCLC
    4 more examples

    Hercules chanced to heare them lovv again, and anſvver from out of the cave vvherein they had been beſtovved: vvhereat he turned back, and made haſte thither.

    1659, T[itus] Livius [i.e., Livy], “[Book I]”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Romane Historie […], London: […] W. Hunt, for George Sawbridge, […], →OCLC, page 6

    [W]e were driven a little to the Eaſt of the Molucca Iſlands, and about three Degrees Northward of the Line, as our Captain found by an Obſervation he took the 2d of May, at which time the Wind ceaſed, and it was a perfect Calm, whereat I was not a little rejoyced.

    1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “A Great Storm Described, the Long-Boat Sent to Fetch Water, the Author Goes with It to Discover the Country. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part II (A Voyage to Brobdingnag), pages 150–151

    Again she felt that bosom cold, / And drew in her breath with a hissing sound: / Whereat the Knight turn'd wildly round, / And nothing saw, but his own sweet maid / With eyes uprais'd, as one that pray'd.

    1800, S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “Christabel. Part II.”, in Christabel: Kubla Khan, a Vision: The Pains of Sleep, London: […] John Murray, […], by William Bulmer and Co. […], published 1816, →OCLC, page 35

    "In going to Mr Carlyle you have done the best thing possible; you have put your sister into the care of the shrewdest man in London." Whereat the object of this quite unexpected eulogy found himself becoming covered with modest confusion.

    1914, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kʷ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kʷís
  3. Proto-Germanic*hwaz
  4. Proto-Germanic*hwar
  5. Proto-West Germanic*hwār
  6. Old Englishhwǣr
  7. Middle Englishwher
  8. Englishwhere
  9. Englishwhere-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*h₂éd
  11. Proto-Germanic*at
  12. Old Englishæt
  13. Middle Englishat
  14. Englishat
  15. Englishwhereat

From where- + at.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian при което
  • при което (pri koeto)at which, or toward which
Dutch waaraan
  • waaraanat which, or toward which
Finnish joten
  • jotenat which, or toward which
French à quoi
  • à quoiat which, or toward which
Polish po czym
  • po czymat which, or toward which
Swedish varpå
  • varpåat which, or toward which

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with whereat

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

whereat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whereat

MLA

“whereat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whereat. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “whereat,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whereat.

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