whereby

W4H4E1R1E1B3Y4
/wɛə(ɹ)ˈbaɪ/

adverb

By what, in which direction; how.

“Whereby goest thou?”

CommonScrabble 18
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Meanings

adverbwhereby (not comparable)
  1. interrogativenot comparableobsoleteBy what, in which direction; how.

    Whereby goest thou?

  2. not comparableBy which.

    M. Sawrey […] devised a mechanical method whereby theatrical scenes could be changed in a simple way.

    1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 179
    2 more examples

    Shylock: Nay, take my life and all; pardon not that: You take my house when you do take the prop That doth sustain my house; you take my life When you do take the means whereby I live.

    c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]

    Other heads saw devolution as a whole new way of life and adopted an approach whereby the power of devolution was used to enable the school to drive the curriculum.

    1990, Local management of schools, Kogan Page Ltd
  3. nonstandardnot comparableWhere, wherein, in which.

    Because COBOL does not have a date type, some implementations rely instead on a system whereby all dates are coded to a reference point. The most commonly used is May 20, 1875, as this was the date of an international standards-setting conference held in Paris, known as the Convention du Mètre.

    2025 February 17, David Gilbert, “No, 150-Year-Olds Aren’t Collecting Social Security Benefits”, in WIRED, archived from the original on 19 Feb 2025

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
wherewithal

Origin

From where + by.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic الذي به, بذلك
  • الذي بهby which
  • بذلكby which
Bulgarian по какъв начин
  • по какъв начин (po kakăv način)by which
Catalan pel qual, per la qual
  • pel qualby which
  • per la qualby which
Czech čím, čímž
  • čímby which
  • čímžby which
  • jímžby which
Danish hvorved
  • hvorvedby which
Dutch waarbij
  • waarbijby which
Finnish jolla, millä
  • jollaby which
  • milläby which
French par quoi, par lequel
  • par quoiby which
  • par lequelby which
German wodurch
  • wodurchby which
Hungarian miáltal, mi/ami által/révén/útján
  • miáltalby which
  • mi/ami által/révén/útjánby which
  • mibőlby which
  • amibőlby which
  • amelybőlby which
Italian per cui
  • per cuiby which
Norwegian hvorved
  • hvorvedby which
Portuguese pelo qual
  • pelo qualby which
Russian при помощи
  • при помощи (pri)by which
Spanish mediante el cual, por la cual
  • mediante el cualby which
  • por la cualby which
  • con los cualesby which
  • por medio de las cualesby which
  • según el cualby which
Swedish varmed
  • varmedby which

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with whereby

byimybuyhighywhyreplyjJulytryapplysupplyhieyeguyfidiflyskynearbykyspysi
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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