Showing results for "whom"

• objective of who.

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

South Africa is the continent's wealthiest nation and has long attracted migrants searching for better economic opportunities, some of whom enter the illegally.

From BBC • Jul. 12, 2026

Proponents compared him to such 19th-century statesmen as Germany’s Otto von Bismarck and Italy’s Camillo Benso di Cavour, both of whom united their countries.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 12, 2026

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was deeply saddened by the death of Graham, whom he met in Kyiv as recently as Friday.

From Barron's • Jul. 12, 2026

The big joke of “Gail Daughtry” could be that Slattery joins the gang to help locate his old costar, with whom he’s lost touch after being left on read too many times.

From Salon • Jul. 12, 2026

She had the look of a queen to her—or not that, he thought: someone to whom a queen would kneel.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell