whatnot 1 of 2

as in what-is-it
a small article the actual name of which one either does not know or cannot remember the store sells an array of whatnots for the do-it-yourself plumber

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whatnot

2 of 2

pronoun

ˈ(h)wät-ˌnät
as in whatever
any of various other things that might also be mentioned the drawer is full of spare pens, paper clips, stray elastics and whatnot

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Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of whatnot
Noun
So there’s been lots and lots documented about my corporate career, about my corporate life, even via my social media and Instagram and whatnot. Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 23 Nov. 2024 In a day and age where things are more transient and whatnot, that guy put his head down and kept working. Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 12 Sep. 2024 Speaking of technique, individual techniques — sfumato, chiaroscuro and whatnot — are explained and accompanied by reenactments of active artisanal hands engaged in those particular processes. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Nov. 2024 Stallone swaggers around, knocking out men decades his junior with one punch, wooing beautiful women, and building the confidence of his ragtag bunch in between drafting them to participate in gun battles with biker gangs and whatnot. Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for whatnot 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whatnot
Noun
  • Lenovo’s claim appears to be that the Legion 9i can fully cool itself with this method, no thingamajig needed.
    Monica Chin, The Verge, 1 Sep. 2023
  • Shot in 2021, the film apparently featured a crew of Ukrainian gangsters as the henchmen of Hugh Grant’s billionaire arms dealer antagonist, Greg Simmonds (who is brokering the thingamajig deal).
    Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2023
Noun
  • Back then, the song was a fast, visionary whatsit, all pulsing, pipe-like synths and simple, buzzing one-bit melodies.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2024
  • The villain this time around isn’t a person but an all-powerful artificial-intelligence whatsit known as the Entity, which fools a super-advanced Russian submarine into destroying itself in the film’s clever pre-credits sequence.
    Peter Debruge, Variety, 5 July 2023
Noun
  • Neighbor-bully-jerkface Trey takes the bolt cutters to the tunnel’s electrical whatchamacallits, which causes a minor explosion and opens up that wicked grate that got Matty in ’94.
    Nick Caruso, TVLine, 11 Jan. 2025
  • Also: how in the name of Philadelphia Flyers hockey legend Bobby Clarke did this show get Gritty, the giant orange whatchamacallit who is the Flyers mascot, as its opening night guest star?
    Gene Seymour, CNN, 22 Sep. 2022
Noun
  • This small doohickey works with Amazon Key In-Garage Delivery, an exclusive Prime member benefit that protects your packages from porch pirates and increment weather.
    Marc Saltzman, USA TODAY, 17 Dec. 2024
  • These days, though KitchenAid sells all kinds of other doohickeys, the stand mixer is still what the company is known for.
    Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2024
Noun
  • In fact, one of my abiding pleasures in life is finding small but transformative thingamabobs—frivolous and not at all necessary items that don’t cost much but can make life a bit sparklier, a bit easier, or just a bit sillier.
    Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 26 Nov. 2024
  • Want to make a new crypto, or a new crypto thingamabob?
    Clem Chambers, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Whatnot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whatnot. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

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