what about
"what-about" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“what about” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Used to make a suggestion.
Corpus desk
Index EN-what-about · what about · English
what about · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "W" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | what about |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “what about” in English
Rare enough to double-check
what about is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for what about in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is what about, spelled W-H-A-T- -A-B-O-U-T.
Definition
- 1Used to make a suggestion.
- 2Used to ask someone to consider something or someone that they have apparently not considered.
- 3Used to repeat a question but referring to a different subject or object.
- 4Used to inquire about the purpose of someone introducing a subject to the speaker.
- 5Used to express approval of an occurrence or a result.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how what about appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
What about going to a restaurant tonight?
You're obviously having a good time, but what about me?
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.