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who
1[ hoo ]
pronoun
- what person or persons?:
Who did it?
- (of a person) of what character, origin, position, importance, etc.:
Who does she think she is?
- the person that or any person that (used relatively to represent a specified or implied antecedent):
It was who you thought.
- (used relatively in restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses to represent a specified antecedent, the antecedent being a person or sometimes an animal or personified thing):
Any kid who wants to can learn to swim.
- Archaic. the person or persons who.
WHO
2[ duhb-uhl-yoo-eych-oh ]
abbreviation for
- World Health Organization: an agency of the United Nations, established in 1948, concerned with improving international public health and preventing or controlling communicable diseases on a worldwide basis through various technical projects and programs.
WHO
1abbreviation for
- World Health Organization
who
2/ huː /
pronoun
- which person? what person? used in direct and indirect questions
who met you?
he can't remember who did it
- used to introduce relative clauses with antecedents referring to human beings
the people who lived here have left
- the one or ones who; whoever
bring who you want
Usage
Confusables Note
Word History and Origins
Origin of who1
Word History and Origins
Origin of who1
Idioms and Phrases
- as who should say, Archaic. in a manner of speaking; so to say.
Example Sentences
Because that minimum-wage hike was a project of the federal government, and that means that you-know-who was for it.
Meanwhile, they have devastated mental-health funding since you-know-who became president.
Another doctor claimed that Afridi ran off with several WHO-supplied boxes of vaccines.
So pondering this situation has got me thinking for the first time semi-seriously about you-know-who.
On the other side, President Obama seems to have become Lord Voldemort to the Hollywood elite: He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
O my people!Who crowd with greedy eyes round this my jewel,Poor ivory, token of his outward beauty—Oh!
From time to time they caught the grewsome head by the hair and shook it violently, shouting, Who-oo-oo!
Aveline-who-never-lied lies half stretched out upon a bench.
But Miss Wilson will not talk about the row, whatever it was, with the chance of goodness-knows-who coming in any minute.
Peter-who-lives-next-door came in this morning to display an infinitesimal, bandaged thumb.
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About This Word
What is WHO?
The World Health Organization, commonly abbreviated as WHO, is an agency of the United Nations that works to promote public health around the world. One of its principal focuses is combating communicable diseases, such as influenza, HIV, and malaria. In 2020, the World Health Organization notably helped coordinate international efforts to control and prevent the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Health Organization was founded on April 7, 1948, when its constitution came into force. WHO inherited the activities of its precursors, the International Office of Public Health, founded in 1907, and the League of Nations Health Organization (LNHO), which was dissolved in 1946.
As stated in its constitution, the World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” The organization is guided by the principles that health is a fundamental human right and that every person should enjoy the highest standard of health.
The World Health Organization helped lead one of the greatest public health achievements in history: the eradication of smallpox, a highly contagious disease that has ravaged humanity since antiquity. But in 1979, WHO declared smallpox officially eradicated—that is, eliminated as a naturally occurring disease—as the result of vaccination programs.
The World Health Organization was also a major player in the near eradication of polio, a viral disease that can cause debilitating muscle weakness. WHO has helped spearhead efforts against many other communicable diseases, including Ebola, HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis.
While best known for its work in fighting communicable diseases, the World Health Organization pursues a broad array of programs and projects across the globe addressing:
- noncommunicable diseases, such as cancer and diabetes
- health-related issues across people’s lifetimes
- tobacco and drug use
- environmental health issues, including clean air and water
- food safety and security
- road safety
- emergency response
- healthcare policies, including seeking universal healthcare coverage
Other key services of the World Health Organization—and carried out as part of its various missions—are monitoring health risks, conducting research, overseeing medical classifications, offering technical guidance, and providing scientific information and health education.
With a workforce of more than 8,000, made up of experts from epidemiologists to statisticians, the World Health Organization operates in 150 offices across the globe in addition to six regional offices and its headquarters in Geneva.
The World Health Organization works with 194 member states, which includes most of the countries around the world. The organization also partners with a variety of non-state actors, including a variety of specialized institutes, foundations, and professional societies.
Delegations from member states meet each year at the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva. The WHA elects WHO’s director general, who serves a five-year term, and an executive board, made up of 34 experts who serve three-year terms.
With a two-year budget of nearly $6 billion, the World Health Organization primarily relies on contributions from member states for funding, though it also receives private donations.
Did you know ... ?
As noted, the constitution of the World Health Organization went into force on April 7, 1948. That date is commemorated each year as World Health Day.
First celebrated in 1950, World Health Day seeks, as WHO explains, “to raise global awareness of a specific health theme to highlight a priority area of concern” for the organization.
Past themes have focused on mental health, motherhood, blood pressure, aging, and climate change. World Health Day 2020 celebrated the work of nurses and midwives, with a special nod to all the healthcare workers on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19.
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.
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