when
when Lexical Profile
when Game Scores & Validity
• adverb
At what time; on what occasion or under what circumstances (used to introduce a direct or indirect question).
"When did the university first establish its department of astronomy?"
At or during which time (used as a relative adverb to introduce a clause modifying a noun of time).
"Sunday is the only day of the week when the museum offers free admission."
• conjunction
At or during the time that; while.
"She was studying in Madrid when she first learned to speak fluent Spanish."
After which; and just then; as soon as.
"Call the office when you arrive at the train station."
At any time that; whenever.
"Plants grow rapidly when they receive adequate sunlight and water."
In view of the fact that; considering that.
"How can we finalize the budget when we still lack the third-quarter figures?"
Although; whereas (used to indicate a contrast or unexpectedness).
"They decided to walk home when they could have easily taken the bus."
• pronoun
What time; which time (typically used as the object of a preposition).
"Until when do we have to submit our completed grant proposals?"
• noun
The time, date, or occasion of an event.
"The committee has agreed on the where and the how of the conference, but not yet the when."
• Rhymes for when
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English hwanne, hwenne, derived from Proto-Germanic *hwanē, an interrogative adverbial stem from the Proto-Indo-European root *kwo- (the stem of relative and interrogative pronouns).