whoever

American  

[hoo-ev-er] / huˈɛv ər /

pronoun

possessive

whosever,

objective

whomever

1. whatever person; anyone that.

   Whoever did it should be proud. Ask whoever is there. Tell it to whomever you like.

2. no matter who.

   I won't do it, whoever asks.

3. who? what person? (used to express astonishment, disbelief, disdain, etc.).

   Whoever is that? Whoever told you such a thing?

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whoever British  

/ huːˈɛvə /

pronoun

1. any person who; anyone that

   whoever wants it can have it

2. no matter who

   I'll come round tomorrow, whoever may be here

3. an intensive form of who, used in questions

   whoever could have thought that?

4. informal an unknown or unspecified person

   give those to John, or Cathy, or whoever

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Etymology

Origin of whoever

Middle English word dating back to 1125–75; who, ever

Example Sentences

A source at the time described the spare cash as a "golden egg" for whoever wins May's Senedd election, and a "vast amount" for a single year.

From BBC

Whoever wins will be guaranteed a top-eight finish, which grants direct qualification for the last 16.

From Barron's

“Technically, no. But I bet you can climb the bluff. Maybe that’s how they’re getting up there. If we can figure out a way to do it, we can go up there early one night. And then we can catch whoever it is.”

From Literature

I wonder if she’ll spend all of today trying to figure out the best way to catch whoever’s pretending to be the ghost.

From Literature

“She wanted to see if she could figure out the truth behind the Spirit of the Sea. She was probably trying to find a way up to the top, so she could hide and try to catch whoever was pretending to be the ghost. She wanted to prove it wasn’t real. She thought getting evidence one way or another might mean you would stay here in Driftaway Beach. For good.”

From Literature

Related Words

• someone