English Lexicon

Who Knows

/huː noʊz/
phraseCEFR B1 (Intermediate)Top #1500 frequency
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Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As phrase
  1. 1

    An expression used to indicate uncertainty or lack of knowledge about something.

    "When asked about the future, she simply replied, 'Who knows?'"
  2. 2

    A rhetorical question implying that the answer is unknown or unpredictable.

    "He shrugged and said, 'Who knows what will happen next?'"

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Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The phrase 'who knows' combines the interrogative pronoun 'who' from Old English 'hwā' and the verb 'know' from Old English 'cnāwan'. Over time, it evolved to express uncertainty or lack of knowledge about a subject.

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