whatnot

[ hwuht-not, hwot-, wuht-, wot- ]

noun

1. a stand with shelves for bric-a-brac, books, etc.
2. something or anything of the same or similar kind:

   sheets, pillowcases, towels, napkins, and whatnot.

whatnot

/ ˈwɒtˌnɒt /

noun

1. informal.
   Also calledwhat-d'you-call-it a person or thing the name of which is unknown, temporarily forgotten, or deliberately overlooked
2. informal.
   unspecified assorted material
3. a portable stand with shelves, used for displaying ornaments, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of whatnot¹

First recorded in 1530–40; from the phrase what not?

Example Sentences

And there's still a lot of people that think when he says crazy things to whatnot, there's some kind of special strategy.

From Salon

“If the check is large enough, the studios are not going to blink at it, and then they’ll deal with the headache of sorting out the profit participation and whatnot.”

From Los Angeles Times

“I’m sure a lot of emotions and whatnot. These are the games we dream of playing.”

From Los Angeles Times

“There are little details he’s trying to work on and whatnot, but man, he looked pretty darn good.”

From Los Angeles Times

And then you have a platform — if you're blessed to have a platform — in front of cameras or whatnot and you can reach people, to speak to that audience.

From Salon

Related Words

• accessory
• apparatus
• appliance
• equipment
• gadget
• gear
• machine
• material
• mechanism