Weather vs. Whether vs. Wether: Do You Know the Difference?

Weather, whether, and wether are homophones, meaning they sound the same but have different meanings. Do you know how to use and spell them correctly?

If you aren’t 100% sure, this post is for you. Let’s look at the distinctions among them by starting with the word you might use the most often.

The Meaning of Weather

As a noun, the word weather refers to the sky, air, and temperature. Sunny, rainy, hot, windy, and blizzard are all weather-related words. If you are describing atmospheric conditions outside, this is the spelling you want.

Examples

The weather is perfect for hiking today.

Our flight was late to Chicago because of issues with the winter weather there.

The word weather also can be used as a verb for “to endure,” “to undergo change,” or “to discolor or disintegrate, as by the effects of weather.”

You may have heard the idiomatic expression weather the storm, which means “to survive difficulties.” Here’s another example using weather:

The cliffs have been weathered by the ocean’s millennia of beating against them.

The Meaning of Whether

Whether is a subordinating conjunction that typically addresses one or more alternatives. Its meaning also can often be similar to if.

Whether you go with me or stay here, I need to leave at 6:00 p.m. (alternatives)

I don’t know whether I’m going to make it to my meeting on time. (if)

Sheila said she’s buying that wedding dress regardless of whether Tim proposes. (alternatives—the words or not after whether are omitted but understood)

If the word you’re looking to use involves choice or a meaning close to if, you want the spelling whether.

The Meaning of Wether

A wether is a ram or goat that was castrated early in life. Unless you work on a ranch or live near mountains, you will probably rarely use this word or never at all. Should you come across it in your writing or someone else’s, simply ask yourself if it applies to an animal. If not, it’s likely a typo.

Pop Quiz

Choose the proper spelling and use of weather or whether in each sentence. (Because wether is so rare, we are excluding it from this exercise.)

1. Have you decided [whether / weather] to accept our proposal?

2. A day at the beach can be ruined by bad [whether / weather].

3. Jim couldn’t say [whether / weather] his brother would stop by.

4. The agent couldn’t tell me [whether / weather] the train had arrived yet.

5. I can’t believe we were able to [whether / weather] a mountain blizzard in that tent.

 

Pop Quiz Answers

1. Have you decided whether to accept our proposal?

2. A day at the beach can be ruined by bad weather.

3. Jim couldn’t say whether his brother would stop by.

4. The agent couldn’t tell me whether the train had arrived yet.

5. I can’t believe we were able to weather a mountain blizzard in that tent.

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