why

1. For what cause, reason, or purpose.
   1. interrogativenot comparableIntroducing a complete question.

      Why is the sky blue?

      4 more examples

      Why did you do that?

      I don’t know why he did that.

      Tell me why the moon changes phase.

      Why do you have a map of the world?

      2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

   2. interrogativenot comparableWith a negative, used rhetorically to make a suggestion.

      Why don't you ask her out for dinner?

   3. interrogativenot comparableIntroducing a verb phrase (bare infinitive clause).

      Why not tell him how you feel?

      1 more example

      Why spend money on something you already get for free?

   4. interrogativenot comparableIntroducing a noun or other phrase.

      Why him? Why not someone taller?

2. not comparablerelativeFor which cause, reason, or purpose.

   That's the reason why I did that.

3. not comparablefused relativeThe cause, reason, or purpose for which.

   That is why the sky is blue.

   2 more examples

   Why most of us volunteer is that we need some fresh air.

   Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.

   2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845

plural whys · plural why's · plural whies

1. Reason.

   I don't want to know the whys or the wherefores of your decision.

   2 more examples

   A good article will cover the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how.

   Within months of leaving, she became the new owner of Dream Body Recovery in Miami, which has three rooms that can accommodate up to six clients. “Being a part of this journey with other ladies, knowing how it changed my life, that’s my why,” she told me.

   2022 May 11, Sandra E. Garcia, “Butt Lifts Are Booming. Healing Is No Joke.”, in The New York Times Magazine

1. datedliteraryAn exclamation used to express pleasant or unpleasant mild surprise, indignation, or impatience.

   Why, how kind of you!

   4 more examples

   Why, that’s ridiculous!

   Why yes, that’s true.

   VVhy Child, I tell thee if I vvas thy Mmother I ſhould not diſovvn thee; Don't you ſee I am as kind to you as if I vvas your Mother?

   Roxana

   1724, [Daniel Defoe], The Fortunate Mistress; […] [Roxana], London: […] E. Applebee, […], published 1740, →OCLC, page 242

   Suddenly she put her hand out to feel Helen, and felt the pin curlers. “Why, you’ve got curlers on!”

   1956, Daphne Athas, chapter XV, in The Fourth World: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 158

present singular third person whys · present singular third person whies · participle present whying · participle past whyed · past whyed · participle past whied · past whied

1. intransitivetransitiveTo ask (someone) the question "why?".

   Why indeed? But once you start whying, there's no end to it.

   1930, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, Assorted Articles, London: Martin Secker, page 11

plural whies

1. YorkshireobsoleteA young heifer.

   At two years old, also, the HEIFERS - provincially, “whies,” are generally put to the bull.

   1796, William Marshall, The Rural Economy of Yorkshire

1. alternativeAlternative form of wye; the name of the Latin script letter Y/y.

   ee, why, ee, ess, eyes

   1881 April, J. B. Rundell, “The Irregularities of English Spelling: what they Cost and what they are Worth”, in The Spelling Reformer, and Journal of the English Spelling Reform Association, volume I, number 10, London, page 147

   4 more examples

   eff you see kay why oh you.

   1996, Sycamore Review, volume 8, page 116

   I hear you. But hear me out, all right? Because I mean what I’m about to say. Eff-you-see-kay-why-oh-you. Fuck you.

   2009, Eric Barnes, Shimmer, Denver, Colo.: Unbridled Books, →ISBN, page 91

   Like many folks do when taking medicine past its expiration date, Jerry had questioned its effectiveness. The pill had answered with a resounding why ee ess, and Jerry couldn’t tell between the Custom Costume in his pocket and himself.

   2016, Daniel DiPrinzio, “Come Quickly”, in The Great Stone Robbery or A Parade of Idiots, →ISBN, page 184

   Miss said, “Love your outfit, bee-tee-double-u.” It took me a second to realize she meant “btw.” “Is it vintage?” / I looked down at my school uniform. Fudgsicles. “Tee-why,” said Jahna, for “ty.” “And why-ee-ess yes!”

   2016, Rachel Cohn, David Levithan, The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily, Electric Monkey, →ISBN, page 73