wherewithal

2 definitions • 5 examples

something such as money or a particular quality that is necessary in order to get or achieve something:

I'd like to buy a bigger house, but I don't have the wherewithal.

[ + to infinitive ] Poor families lack the wherewithal to hire good lawyers.

The new job has given her the financial wherewithal to support herself and her two children.

Many life forms probably don't have the genetic wherewithal to adapt to a more acid ocean.

the money necessary for a particular purpose:

Most people don’t have the wherewithal to hire the best lawyers.