whodunit
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of whodunit
1925–30; jocular formation from question Who done it?, for standard English Who did it?
Explanation
A whodunit is a mystery story that keeps the criminal's identity a secret until the very end. A well-written whodunit can keep you up late turning pages, eager for the ending to be revealed. If a book, play, or movie is a whodunit, there's usually a detective investigating what's almost always a murder case. The key to the plot, which is generally complex and confusing, is the question implicit in the informal whodunit: "Who (has) done it?" Since it was coined around 1930 in the U.S., this term has been common for a particular type of mystery or detective story.
Vocabulary lists containing whodunit
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.
As part of his dedicated care, George reads passages of murder mystery novels to the sheep nightly, a whodunit treat to cap off the day’s events.
From Salon • May 25, 2026
Hugh Jackman plays a shepherd whose animals attempt to solve the mystery of his death in this sleepy English whodunit.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
Thomas knew early on that the show, which portrays solved crimes in a whodunit format, should feel like storytelling around a campfire, according to senior producer Vince Sherry.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025
While intended to capture the sun-soaked sleaze of a B-movie noir, “Honey Don’t!” is a perplexingly plotted whodunit that delivers the “who” but none of the “why.”
From Salon • Aug. 23, 2025
But whenever you’re reading a whodunit, or watching Law and Order reruns on a Sunday night, you find yourself sorting through candidates to be the criminal on the grounds that they are “too obvious.”
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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.
