what with

English

WOTD – 17 August 2006

Pronunciation

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• Audio (AU):

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Preposition

what with

1. (idiomatic) Owing to; because of; as a result of.

   She was sleeping very badly these days, what with the new baby and all the activity surrounding him.

Usage notes

• Unlike its synonymous expressions, what with is always preceded by a comma or used at the beginning of a sentence.

Translations

owing to

• Arabic: حَيْث (ḥayṯ), لِأَن (liʔan), بِسَبَب (bi-sabab)
• Icelandic: út af
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Kurdish: ,