Dictionary

whom en · PRON

Pronunciation

• /hum/ (Canada, General-American)
• /huːm/ (Received-Pronunciation, Wales)
• (UK) audio
• /hʉːm/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
• /hwɒm/ (Early, Modern) originally unstressed
• /h(w)ɔːm/ (Early, Modern)
• /hʉwm/ (British, Southern, Standard)
• /hʉm/ (Northern-Ireland, Scotland)
• /h(w)uːm/ (Early, Modern)

Etymology

From Middle English whom, wham, from Old English hwām, hwǣm, from Proto-Germanic *hwammai, dative case of *hwaz (“who, what”). Cognate with Scots wham (“whom”), German wem (“whom, to whom”), Danish hvem (“who, whom”), Swedish vem (“who, whom”).

Meanings

1. (formal, interrogative, often) What person or people; which person or people. ▸ As the object of a verb.
   • “Oh?” she said. “So you have decided to revise my guest list for me? You have the nerve, the – the –” I saw she needed helping out. “Audacity,” I said, throwing her the line. “The audacity to dictate to me who I shall have in my house.” It should have been “whom”, but I let it go. “You have the –” “Crust.” “– the immortal rind,” she amended, and I had to admit it was stronger, “to tell me whom” – she got it right that time – “I may entertain at Brinkley Court and who” – wrong again – “I may not.” 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XVIII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
   • Whom did you ask?
2. (formal, interrogative, often) What person or people; which person or people. ▸ As the object of a preposition.
   • The principal economic activity is copra production, the Government copra plantation covering some 5,170 ha. The population in 1989 was estimated at 2,000, the great majority of whom live in London, Banana and Poland villages in the west. 1993, “A DIRECTORY OF WETLANDS IN OCEANIA”, in Wetlands International, archived from the original on 30 Aug 2018, page 188:
   • To whom are you referring?
   • He read the letter aloud. Sophia listened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement. 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
   • The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed. 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
   • With whom were you talking?
   • “A very hearty pip-pip to you, old ancestor,” I said, well pleased, for she is a woman with whom it is always a privilege to chew the fat. “And a rousing toodle-oo to you, you young blot on the landscape,” she replied cordially. 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter I, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
3. (formal, often, relative) Used to refer to a previously mentioned person or people.
   • She felt miserable unless she had neighbors with whom to quarrel regularly.
   • A woman shooting pool whom you know has red hair even though the photograph is black and white. 1979 December 29, Tia Cross, “Lesbian Family Album”, in Gay Community News, volume 7, number 23, page 14:
   • Mr Smith, whom we all know well, will be giving the speech. (non-defining)
   • The eminent brain specialist to whom she alluded was a man I would not have cared to lunch with myself, our relations having been on the stiff side since the night at Lady Wickham's place in Hertfordshire when, acting on the advice of my hostess's daughter Roberta, I had punctured his hot-water bottle with a darning needle in the small hours of the morning. Quite unintentional, of course. 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter I, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
   • He's a person with whom I work (defining)
   • We have ten employees, half of whom are carpenters. (non-defining)
   • That is the woman whom I spoke to earlier. (defining)
   • “Anthea hasn't a notion in her head but to vamp a lot of silly mugwumps. She's set her heart on that tennis bloke[…]whom the papers are making such a fuss about.” 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 1, in Death on the Centre Court:
   • There is a new girl in the class whom I consider to be a wunderkind.
4. (formal, often, qualifier:fused relative; archaic outside set patterns; fused relative; archaic outside set patterns) The person(s) whom; whomever.
   • To whom it may concern, all business of John Smith Ltd. has now been transferred to Floggitt & Runne.
5. (formal, informal, often, qualifier:especially non-US) Also used with names of collective nouns that are groups of people, especially singularly-named musical groups or sports teams.
   • Whom was Lemmy bassist for? Motörhead!

Forms

Deriveds

whom am I kidding · who whom · elsewhom · to whom this may concern · whomever · whom're · to whom it may concern

Translations (161)

ca quins (relative pronoun (object)) · es quién (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · pt quem (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · es cuyo (relative pronoun (object)) · cs koho (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · pl kogo (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · eo kiu (relative pronoun (object)) · ru кого́ (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · ru кото́рым (relative pronoun (object)) · ar اَللَّوَاتِي (relative pronoun (object)) · hy ում (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · es quiénes (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · la quem (relative pronoun (object)) · ru кото́рому (relative pronoun (object)) · pt quem (relative pronoun (object)) · hi जिस (relative pronoun (object)) · pt o qual (relative pronoun (object)) · ca quins (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · io quan (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · de der (relative pronoun (object)) · la cui (relative pronoun (object)) · ht kimoun (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · cy pwy (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · af wie (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · nn kven (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · pl komu (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · sv vilken (relative pronoun (object)) · ca qual (relative pronoun (object)) · nl die (relative pronoun (object)) · ar اَللَّاتِي (relative pronoun (object)) · eo kiuj (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · nb hvem (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · cs kterého (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · la quam (relative pronoun (object)) · sv vem (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · uk ко́трого (relative pronoun (object)) · mk кому (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · ru кем (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · da hvem (relative pronoun (object)) · es quienes (relative pronoun (object)) · pt o que (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · de wem (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · ta எவள் (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · eo kiujn (relative pronoun (object)) · fi joka (relative pronoun (object)) · eo kiu (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · ar اَلَّذِينَ (relative pronoun (object)) · ast quien (relative pronoun (object)) · nb hvem (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · pt os quais (relative pronoun (object)) · ast quienes (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · enm whom (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · tl kanino (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · zdj nɗo (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · de wen (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · es cuyo (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · eo kiun (relative pronoun (object)) · it chi (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · af waarmee (relative pronoun (object)) · la quam (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · de den (relative pronoun (object)) · cs jemuž (relative pronoun (object)) · ru кото́ром (relative pronoun (object)) · ar الَّتِي (relative pronoun (object)) · eo kiuj (relative pronoun (object)) · fi jotka (relative pronoun (object)) · af waarvan (relative pronoun (object)) · uk кому́ (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · uk ким (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · sv som (relative pronoun (object)) · zdj ikao (relative pronoun (object)) · enm whom (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · cs kterému (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · enm whom (relative pronoun (object)) · ar اَللَّتَيْنِ (relative pronoun (object)) · pt que (relative pronoun (object)) · vo kime (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · cs kterého (relative pronoun (object)) · cs komu (relative pronoun (object)) · ta யார் (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · hy ում (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · hy ում (relative pronoun (object)) · fr qui (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · ta எவன் (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · lv kam (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · da hvilken (relative pronoun (object)) · sv vilka (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · uk кого́ (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · af etc. (relative pronoun (object)) · cs komu (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · fr que (relative pronoun (object)) · it chi (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · ca qui (relative pronoun (object)) · de dem (relative pronoun (object)) · fi kenen (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · ar مَنْ (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · uk кому́ (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · ast quién (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · es cual (relative pronoun (object)) · it cui (relative pronoun (object)) · fi keneltä (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · nn kven (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · ast quienes (relative pronoun (object)) · hi किस (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · oc qui (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · ru ком (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · pt (for nonhumans) o quê (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · tr kimi (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · ru кото́рого (relative pronoun (object)) · sv vilka (relative pronoun (object)) · cy y (relative pronoun (object)) · pt quem (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · pt as quais (relative pronoun (object)) · zdj nɗopvi (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · uk кого́ (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · pt (for nonhumans) o quê (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · es quien (relative pronoun (object)) · la cui (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · hu kicsodát (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · fi keiltä (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · cs koho (relative pronoun (object)) · da hvem (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · da hvem (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · ru кого́ (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · ar اَللَّائِي (relative pronoun (object)) · ru кому́ (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · ar اَللَّذَيْنِ (relative pronoun (object)) · cs jehož (relative pronoun (object)) · eo kiujn (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · mhr кӧм (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · pt o que (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · ar مَنْ (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · oc a qui (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · vo kimi (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · bg кого (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · fi kenet (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · ta எவர் (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · la quem (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · ru кем (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · fi keltä (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · es quién (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · fi ketkä (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · ar اَلَّذِي (relative pronoun (object)) · ru кому́ (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · es quiénes (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · hu kit (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · de die (relative pronoun (object)) · oc que (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · ru ком (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · ht kimoun (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · sv vem (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · la quod (relative pronoun (object)) · mk кого (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · fr que (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · bg кому (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative)) · sv vilket (relative pronoun (object)) · pl do kogokolwiek (relative pronoun (object)) · pt a qual (relative pronoun (object)) · sv vilka (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · ca qui (what person; object of a verb (accusative)) · eo kiun (what person or people, object of a preposition (dative))