# when

Pronunciation: say "WEN" US /ʍɛn/, UK /wɛn/

## Conjunction

1. At, during, or as soon as the time that; at any time that; or if.
   - Simple: At the time that something happens, every time it happens, or if it happens.
   - _Call me when you get home._
   - _The alarm sounds when smoke reaches the sensor._
4. And at that time; introducing a new event that continues a narrative or follows a stated time.
   - Simple: And at that time, as in 'I stay till Friday, when I leave'.
   - _She had just sat down when the phone rang._
   - _He worked there until 2010, when the factory closed._
6. Whereas or although, introducing a fact that contrasts with what has just been said, often what ought to be the case instead.
   - Simple: Used to point out a contrast, meaning 'although' or 'whereas'.
   - _She spends hours online when she should be sleeping._
   - _They complain about the cost when they never paid a penny._
7. Since, given that, or considering that, presenting a reason as a circumstance.
   - Simple: Used to give a reason, meaning 'seeing that'.
   - _Why buy a car when the bus stops outside your door?_
   - _Why should I pay for a taxi when the station is only a short walk away?_

## Adverb

2. At what time or on what occasion, in direct or indirect questions; online, also placed after a noun to ask when something awaited will happen ('update when?').
   - Simple: At what time, used to ask when something happens or will happen.
   - _When did you last see her?_
   - _Do you happen to know when the last bus leaves tonight?_
3. At, on, or during which; the time at which, used after a noun for a time or on its own.
   - Simple: The time at which something happens, as in 'the day when we met'.
   - _I remember the summer when we met._
   - _There are days when I wish I had stayed in my hometown._
8. A circumstance or situation in which, used in giving definitions and explanations. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Used in casual definitions, as in 'love is when…'.
   - _Inflation is when prices keep going up._
   - _An own goal is when you score against your own team._
11. At an earlier time and in humbler circumstances, with the rest left unsaid ('he's mister high and mighty now, but I remember him when').
   - Simple: At an earlier time, before someone became successful or important, as in 'I knew him when'.
   - _They own three hotels now; I knew them when._
   - _Famous now, but some of us remember him when._

## Pronoun

5. What time or which time, used after a preposition.
   - Simple: What time, used after a word like 'since' or 'till'.
   - _Until when is the offer open?_
   - _The sign says the road is closed, but it doesn't say until when._

## Interjection

9. Said, often humorously, in answer to 'say when' to mean 'that's enough' and stop someone adding food or drink.
   - Simple: Said to tell someone to stop pouring or adding something.
   - _"More gravy? Just say when." "When!"_
   - _He never says 'when' until the glass is full._

## Noun

10. The time of an event as a noun, usually in the journalist's list ('the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how'); plural 'whens'.
   - Simple: The time at which something happens, used as a noun.
   - _The where is settled; the when is still open._
   - _Every plan needs a when as well as a what._

## Interjection

12. Used to express impatience, roughly meaning 'hurry up!'. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: An old exclamation of impatience, like 'come on!'.

## Origin

"When" comes from Middle English "whan(ne)" and Old English "hwonne," from Proto-Germanic "*hwan" ("at what time, when") and ultimately the Proto-Indo-European interrogative base "*kʷís." It is cognate with Dutch "wanneer," German "wann" and "wenn," Gothic "ƕan," and Latin "quandō." The interjection sense arose from a playful misunderstanding of "say when."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/when (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).