: the smallest part or particle imaginable : bit
what some people will do for a whit of publicityPatrick Quinn

Examples of whit in a Sentence

I care not a whit about what other people think.
Recent Examples on the Web But equivocation in a country that doesn’t care a whit if Shakespeare is still on the syllabus can easily pass unnoticed. Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2023 The real reason was that the Fed’s most powerful and vocal constituency was, and remains, the banks, which don’t care one whit about people getting thrown out of work. Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 11 Aug. 2023 These folks have been sweetening lives here since the early 1950s, and the taffy recipe hasn't changed a whit. Tracey Minkin, Southern Living, 12 July 2023 When the weather turns sour, the Volvo 940 doesn't care one whit. Dick Kelley, Car and Driver, 27 June 2023 The fact that both Trump and Biden have major bipartisan accomplishments to their names matters not a whit. Osita Nwanevu, The New Republic, 20 Sep. 2021 Koresh and his followers cared not a whit what the rest of the world thought and believed. Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2023 But the year is 1849, and Eliza’s preferences matter not a whit. Joanne Kaufman, WSJ, 2 Dec. 2022 The immediacy this gives the character will likely endear the Netflix feature to young audiences who don’t care a whit about fealty to Austen’s novel. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 July 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'whit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, probably alteration of wiht, wight creature, thing — more at wight

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of whit was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near whit

Cite this Entry

“Whit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whit. Accessed 23 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

whit

noun
ˈhwit How to pronounce whit (audio)
ˈwit
: the smallest part or particle : bit
cared not a whit about money

More from Merriam-Webster on whit

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