what with

English

WOTD – 17 August 2006

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (General Australian):

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Preposition

what with

1. (idiomatic, informal) 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.

   What with it being too late and raining, we decided to stay home.

   • 2009 October 29, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Mr Stink, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

     It was hard to take him seriously, though, what with his multi-colored eye makeup.

Usage notes

• Unlike its synonymous expressions, what with is always preceded by a comma if not used at the beginning of a sentence.

Translations

owing to

• Arabic: حَيْث (ḥayṯ), لِأَن (liʔan), بِسَبَب (bi-sabab)
• Icelandic: út af
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: ji ber (ku), seba (ku)

• Portuguese: por conta de (pt)