whom

[ hoom ]

pronoun
  1. the objective case of who: Whom did you call? Of whom are you speaking? With whom did you stay?

  2. the dative case of who: You gave whom the book?

Origin of whom

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English hwām, dative of interrogative pronoun hwā who

confusables note For whom

See who.

Words that may be confused with whom

  • who, whom (see confusables note at who)

Words Nearby whom

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How to use whom in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for whom

whom

/ (huːm) /


pronoun
  1. the objective form of who, used when who is not the subject of its own clause: whom did you say you had seen?; he can't remember whom he saw

Origin of whom

1
Old English hwām, dative of hwā who

usage For whom

It was formerly considered correct to use whom whenever the objective form of who was required. This is no longer thought to be necessary and the objective form who is now commonly used, even in formal writing: there were several people there who he had met before . Who cannot be used directly after a preposition – the preposition is usually displaced, as in the man (who) he sold his car to . In formal writing whom is preferred in sentences like these: the man to whom he sold his car . There are some types of sentence in which who cannot be used: the refugees, many of whom were old and ill, were allowed across the border

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