where

Meanings

1. 1
   adv

   In, at or to what place.

   Where are you?

2. 2
   adv

   In what situation.

   Where would we be without our parents?

3. 3
   adv

   In, at or to the place (that) or a place (that).

   Stay where you are.

4. 4
   adv

   In, at or to any place (that); wherever; anywhere.

   Please sit where you like.

5. 5
   adv

   In, at or to which.

   This is the place where we first met.

6. 6
   adv

   The place in, at or to which.

   He lives within five miles of where he was born.

7. 7
   adv

   A situation or case in which.

   A function is where two variables are related.

8. 8
   adv

   In a/the situation, position, case, etc. in which.

   You cannot be too careful where explosives are involved.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷ- Proto-Indo-European *kʷís Proto-Germanic *hwaz Proto-Indo-European *-r Proto-Germanic *-r Proto-Germanic *hwar Proto-West Germanic *hwār Old English hwǣr Middle English wher English where From Middle English wher, from Old English hwǣr (“where”, literally “at what place”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwār, from Proto-Germanic *hwar (“where”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷo- (interrogative pronoun).