whom

American  

[hoom] / hum /

pronoun

1. the objective case of who.

   Whom did you call? Of whom are you speaking? With whom did you stay?

2. the dative case of who.

   You gave whom the book?

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whom British  

/ huːm /

pronoun

1. the objective form of who , used when who is not the subject of its own clause

   whom did you say you had seen?

   he can't remember whom he saw

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Usage

It was formerly considered correct to use whom whenever the objective form of who was required. This is no longer thought to be necessary and the objective form who is now commonly used, even in formal writing: there were several people there who he had met before . Who cannot be used directly after a preposition – the preposition is usually displaced, as in the man ( who ) he sold his car to . In formal writing whom is preferred in sentences like these: the man to whom he sold his car . There are some types of sentence in which who cannot be used: the refugees, many of whom were old and ill, were allowed across the border

Commonly Confused

See who .

Etymology

Origin of whom

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English hwām, dative of interrogative pronoun hwā who

Example Sentences

A few minutes later he posted that the president had told him by phone that a Columbia University student whom ICE detained today would be released.

From The Wall Street Journal

JPMorgan said at the time that any meeting held with Epstein after 2013 was regarding other JPMorgan bank clients whom Epstein represented.

From The Wall Street Journal

She began, “Was there any … departed friends or relatives with whom Miss Allen would like to converse?”

From Literature

“Yes,” replied Miss Allen, “I had a grandmother whom I loved very much, and I would like to talk with her.”

From Literature

My father and mother were very good, honest people and great friends with the Hyde family for whom the village was named and who lived near.

From Literature