noun
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a sudden, passing, and often fanciful idea; impulsive or irrational thought
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a horse-drawn winch formerly used in mining to lift ore or water
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
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Wonder
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100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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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.
And he has a great plan, whatever it is at any given moment to satisfy wherever his latest whim has taken him.
From Salon • Apr. 24, 2026
A one-tonne revolving sculpture created "on a whim" by Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, has been installed at a safari park in Wiltshire.
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies fell Thursday as digital assets traded in step with stock markets and at the whim of developments in the Iran war.
From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026
“With Iran we now see the irony that despite unimaginable energy independence, the U.S. is still at the whim of a physical chokepoint,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026
By then his cider, which he had apparently expected to dole out according to his own governing whim, was disappearing.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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.
