whom

American  

[hoom] / hum /

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?

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whom British  

/ 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

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Usage

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

Commonly Confused

See who .

Etymology

Origin of whom

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

Example Sentences

Whom he calls “Ms. McIntyre,” which is not a good sign.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025

Whom I was enormously polite to at all moments.

From Slate • Nov. 17, 2025

Hemingway was fresh off selling the movie rights to “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”

From Salon • Jul. 12, 2025

Whom the Toffees face in their first competitive match in the new stadium won’t be announced until June 18.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2025

We say Henry kissed her, so we ask Whom did Henry kiss?

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker