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when

[ wen, hwen; unstressed wuhn, hwuhn ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adverb

at what time or period? how long ago? how soon?:
When are they to arrive?
When did the Roman Empire exist?
under what circumstances? upon what occasion?:
When is a letter of condolence in order?
When did you ever see such a crowd?

conjunction

at what time:
to know when to be silent.
at the time or in the event that:
when we were young;
when the noise stops.
at any time; whenever:
He is impatient when he is kept waiting.
upon or after which; and then:
We had just fallen asleep when the bell rang.
while on the contrary; considering that; whereas:
Why are you here when you should be in school?

pronoun

what time:
Till when is the store open?
which time:
They left on Monday, since when we have heard nothing.

noun

the time of anything:
the when and the where of an act.

when

/ ��ɛ�� /

adverb

1. at what time? over what period?
  when is he due?
2. ( used in indirect questions )
  ask him when he's due
say when
to state when an action is to be stopped or begun, as when someone is pouring a drink
subordinating at a time at which; at the time at which; just as; after
I found it easily when I started to look seriously
although
he drives when he might walk
considering the fact that
how did you pass the exam when you'd not worked for it?
at which (time); over which (period)
an age when men were men

noun

usually plural a question as to the time of some occurrence

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Usage

When should not be used loosely as a substitute for in which after a noun which does not refer to a period of time: paralysis is a condition in which (not when ) parts of the body cannot be moved

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Word History and Origins

Origin of when¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English when(ne), Old English hwenne; cognate with German wann “w��,” wenn “if, when” (compare Gothic hwan “when, how”); akin to who, what

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Word History and Origins

Origin of when¹

Old English hwanne, hwænne; related to Old High German hwanne, hwenne, Latin cum

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Idioms and Phrases

cross a bridge when one comes to it
push comes to shove, when

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

As center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs becomes the talk of Major League Baseball with his defense, junior center fielder James Tronstein of Harvard-Westlake remembers the time when he was a freshman and Crow-Armstrong stopped by to offer some tips.

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"I perform abortions when they are wanted by women and within legal circumstances according to Polish law, so I don't feel like a murderer," she told the BBC.

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"I'm sorry for the moments when we failed to meet the high expectations we rightfully set for our community," Dr Garber said in a letter on Tuesday accompanying the reports.

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When you wake up on Friday morning. if, unlike political nerds, you have actually been to bed, the headlines that will greet you will be about Reform.

From

He reunited the Alarm in 2000 and hit the U.K. charts in 2004 when, in a clandestine stunt, he wrote and recorded a single as a fictional teenage punk band, the Poppy Fields.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

whelping ice when all's said and done

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