/hwair, wair/ , adv.
1. in or at what place?: Where is he? Where do you live?
2. in what position or circumstances?: Where do you stand on this question? Without money, where are you?
3. in what particular respect, way, etc.?: Where does this affect us?
4. to what place, point, or end? whither?: Where are you going?
5. from what source? whence?: Where did you get such a notion?
conj.
6. in or at what place, part, point, etc.: Find where he is. Find where the trouble is.
7. in or at the place, part, point, etc., in or at which: The book is where you left it.
8. in a position, case, etc., in which: Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise.
9. in any place, position, case, etc., in which; wherever: Use the ointment where pain is felt.
10. to what or whatever place; to the place or any place to which: I will go where you go.
11. in or at which place; and there: They came to the town, where they lodged for the night.
12. where it's at , Slang. where the most exciting, prestigious, or profitable activity or circumstance is to be found.
pron.
13. what place?: Where did you come from?
14. the place in which; point at which: This is where the boat docks. That was where the phone rang.
n.
15. a place; that place in which something is located or occurs: the wheres and hows of job hunting.
[ bef. 900; ME quher, wher, OE hwaer; c. D waar, OHG hwar; akin to ON hvar, Goth hwar ]
Usage . WHERE ... AT ( Where was he at? ) and WHERE ... TO ( Where is this leading to? ) are often criticized as redundant because neither AT nor TO adds anything to the meaning of WHERE, and sentences like the preceding ones are perfectly clear and standard without the final AT or TO. This criticism does not apply to WHERE ... FROM, which is fully standard: Where does the money come from? The constructions WHERE ... AT and WHERE ... TO occur in the speech of educated people but are rare in formal speech and edited writing.