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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

whom

Three times as many can be found in the South China Sea to show force against the Philippines and Vietnam, with whom Beijing is embroiled in territorial disputes, the officials said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

Officers on Saturday made arrests into the evening, taking people to police vans for transfer, to the applause of many protesters, some of whom chanted: "Free, free Palestine."

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

AFP spoke to several Kherson residents, one of whom said the ceasefire had been a "breath of fresh air".

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

More than 200 billionaires live in California, some of whom moved themselves or their businesses out of the state because of the proposed tax.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

Simon was the perfectly nice young playwright whom Penelope had met in London.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

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