whoever
Americanpronoun
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whomever,
objective
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whosever
possessive
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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:
"Our clients are free to choose whoever they like. The purpose of our business is to help people find someone they genuinely want to be with."
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
The Pozos de Gamboa killings drew the attention of leftist President Claudia Sheinbaum's government, which promised to arrest whoever was behind them.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
Similar to the SGLI, whoever is listed as the beneficiary will receive this money after.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
“We will pressure whoever wins to do the right thing.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
When she turned to give a nervous smile to whoever it was, she recognized the pink scar beside his left eye.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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
Hypocrisy allows parents, or the DoD, or whomever, to target the book itself.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 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
As Americans, we should want whomever is president, whether or not they received our vote, to be successful.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
"Send him in, with whomever he has brought," she said, curious.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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
I thank that voice whosever it may have been, Mingo, and will say it was as true a voice as the rest were lying voices.
From The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper
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 Eden Paul
One glance showed Mary that the letter, whosever it was, had brought unusual news.
From The Little Colonel: Maid of Honor by Etheldred B. (Etheldred Breeze) Barry
But whosever fault it was, it wasn't yours.'
From The Convert by Elizabeth Robins
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.
