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What is the difference between "whereabout" and "whereabouts"

I have heard both of them, but don't know the difference. Merriam-Webster just calls whereabout a less common variant of whereabouts, but that does not tell me what the difference is.

I would appreciate a lot the help.

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    If there were only one whereabout then you wouldn't be wondering as to the whereabouts of something.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Apr 15, 2017 at 18:36

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Where( )about(s) is a local variant on where as used in a question.
It means 'give me some idea of the general vicinity'

  • Whereabout were you when you realized you didn't have your phone?

Some would say whereabouts. There's no difference, but both are stressed on the last syllable.

The other whereabouts (always with -s) is a noun. It refers to someone's present location, and the person is indicated by a possessive:

  • Bill's whereabouts is/are unknown. (some say it's plural, others don't)

This whereabouts is stressed on the first syllable, not the last.

Executive summary: WhereabOUT were you? versus His WHEREabouts.

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    I've only ever heard it used plural (UK).
    – Dan
    Commented Jul 8 at 10:53
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    Merriam-Webster says that "whereabouts" and "whereabout" can be used for all meanings, but the singular is less common in all cases (it's an American dictionary). Confusingly, "whereabouts" as a noun was originally singular but is now used in both singular and plural!
    – Stuart F
    Commented Jul 8 at 13:33
  • @Dan I assume you mean 'plural form' (ie 'whereabouts') for the noun. But as Stuart says, this plural form ('whereabouts') can nowadays be used with a plural verb form ('their/?his whereabouts are unknown'), so one needs to be specific. I'm wondering if 'His whereabouts are unknown' is a plural-form plural-agreement singular-concept (his location is unknown) usage, or perhaps 'their whereabouts are unknown' is a step towards countification (their locations are unknown).
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jul 8 at 14:45
  • @EdwinAshworth - their whereabouts are - when we suppose they are in a several different places; their whereabouts is - when we suppose they are all in the same place?
    – Dan
    Commented Jul 9 at 21:34
  • It's not the way the language works, however sensible it would be if it did. 'His whereabouts are/is unknown' are both used and considered grammatical.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jul 10 at 13:54

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