whoever
Americanpronoun
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whatever person; anyone that.
Whoever did it should be proud. Ask whoever is there. Tell it to whomever you like.
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no matter who.
I won't do it, whoever asks.
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who? what person? (used to express astonishment, disbelief, disdain, etc.).
Whoever is that? Whoever told you such a thing?
pronoun
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any person who; anyone that
whoever wants it can have it
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no matter who
I'll come round tomorrow, whoever may be here
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an intensive form of who, used in questions
whoever could have thought that?
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informal an unknown or unspecified person
give those to John, or Cathy, or whoever
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of whoever
Middle English word dating back to 1125–75; see origin at who, ever
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.
See Examples For:
Trademarks, unlike copyrights or patents, are intellectual property that are not premised on creating value for whoever registers them; they’re about protecting consumers.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026
And judgment is exactly what you should want from whoever is helping you build your retirement security.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
The 25-year-old told the BBC: "I love to see people being free to be themselves and being whoever they want to be."
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
It's an area to keep an eye on, whoever plays.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
I leave Max chopping beets and take Helena out to the storage shed, where we can’t be seen by whoever is on watch at the window.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
His attitude is essentially that the EU must take the outstretched hand of whomever the UK puts on the dancefloor to represent them.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
In writer-director Adrian Chiarella’s “Leviticus,” gay teens in small-town Australia are stalked by a shape-shifting monster that takes the form of whomever they most desire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Root for whomever you want to win, for more or less any reason that moves you.
From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026
I would have to name my estate as beneficiary and then, after the policy is underwritten, change the beneficiary to whomever I want.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
He spends the majority of the evening in the company of Celia Bowen, whose elaborate gown changes color, shifting through a rainbow of hues to complement whomever she is closest to.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Clothes that show whosever wearing them in their best light, to show off their beauty but in a way that never degrades them in any way,” Griffiths said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 23, 2023
And she is not wholesome, whosever word it was.
From The Claverings by Trollope, Anthony
Nom. who, Poss. whose, Obj. whom. " whoever, " whosever, " whomever. " whosoever, " whosesoever, " whomsoever.
From English Grammar in Familiar Lectures by Kirkham, Samuel
That will all happen as predicted, and my mother can recite that lovely poem of Freiligrath's or Anastasius Grun's, or whosever it is 'Love as long as thou canst, love as long as thou mayst.
From A Young Girl's Diary by Paul, Eden
Shepherd, wherever, and whosever, drop an e; and wherefore and therefore assume one.
From The Grammar of English Grammars by Brown, Goold
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.
