Word.ws English Dictionary

what-not

what-not is the alternative spelling of whatnot.

Meaning of whatnot

Noun

whatnot (plural whatnots)

  1. (countable) A small unspecified object; bric-a-brac (in plural).
    • Storage boxes—catchalls for flotsam, jetsam, whatnots and thingamajigs—are gaining new interest as decorative objects for the home.1991 May 30, Emily Gwathmey, “Storage Box: Catchall's New Life as Eye-Catcher”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 14 Dec 2024
  2. (uncountable, set phrase) Other related objects or ideas.
    • At the lexicography club, we welcome all discussion of words and whatnot.
  3. A freestanding set of shelves on which ornaments are displayed; an etagere.
    • On a whatnot in a corner which had been devoted to the child's belongings were Franky's paint-box and some of his toys.1913, Mary E. Mann, Mrs. Day's Daughters, Hodder & Stoughton

Phrases with what-not

Questions about what-not

What is what-not the alternative spelling of?
What-not is the alternative spelling of whatnot.

Words near what-not in the dictionary

  1. what-iffing
  2. what-ifs
  3. what-it's-like-ness
  4. what-it's-likeness
  5. what-like
  6. what-not
  7. what-not shop
  8. what-not shops
  9. what-so-ever
  10. what-the-butler-saw
  11. what-what

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: what-not (page history and authors); whatnot (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “what-not.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/what-not. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.