noun
-
a sudden, passing, and often fanciful idea; impulsive or irrational thought
-
a horse-drawn winch formerly used in mining to lift ore or water
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of whim
First recorded in 1635–45; short for whim-wham
Explanation
A whim is an odd or fanciful idea, something kooky you suddenly decide to do, like dress up like a chicken or drive to Vegas. A whim can be a sudden impulse or a change of mind, like if you go shopping for school clothes but instead buy a pink cowboy hat. Whim is a shortened version of the equally silly sounding whim wham which means "fanciful object," like a tiny snow globe that plays "Hava Nagila." If you go for a drive on a whim, you could wind up anywhere, perhaps even back to the store to return that snow globe.
Vocabulary lists containing whim
List 6
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Wonder
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Kjell-Ivar Skogmo and his group of four traveled from Norway on a whim for a 10-day trip to the U.S. as soon as they were able to secure tickets through a secondary market.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 24, 2026
Ojai has long been home to Theosophists, avant-gardists, potters and naturalists joining other outsiders and mystics with a whim for wonder.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 23, 2026
They become permissions granted or withheld based on the whim of those who interpret and adjudicate our laws.
From Slate • Jun. 4, 2026
On a whim, he took a job at a local nonprofit that helps low-income people get the proper documentation to apply for federal food and housing assistance.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
One newspaper editor had sagely, if cynically, observed that “the usual custom is for the capital of new empires to be selected by the whim or caprice of a despot.”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
