whom

Study(6)

/huːm/

pron 6

Collocations

ADJ.

determined, famous, live, many

I know many people whom I've lost touch with over the years.

VERB + WHOM

decide, discussed, hear, marry, met, ran

I ran into my old friend Sarah yesterday, whom I hadn't seen in years.

WHOM + NOUN

everyone, girls, island, john, poems

I met John, whom everyone on the island seemed to know quite well.

PREP.

into, than, through, with

She had to choose between two candidates, one of whom was more experienced than the other.

Definitions

pron

What person or people; which person or people.

Whom did you ask?

“Oh?” she said. “So you have decided to revise my guest list for me? You have the nerve, the – the –” I saw she needed helping out. “Audacity,” I said, throwing her the line. “The audacity to dictate to me who I shall have in my house.” It should have been “whom”, but I let it go. “You have the –” “Crust.” “– the immortal rind,” she amended, and I had to admit it was stronger, “to tell me whom” – she got it right that time – “I may entertain at Brinkley Court and who” – wrong again – “I may not.”

What person or people; which person or people.

To whom are you referring?

With whom were you talking?

Used to refer to a previously mentioned person or people.

That is the woman whom I spoke to earlier. (defining)

Mr Smith, whom we all know well, will be giving the speech. (non-defining)

The person(s) whom; whomever.

To whom it may concern, all business of John Smith Ltd. has now been transferred to Floggitt & Runne.

Also used with names of collective nouns that are groups of people, especially singularly-named musical groups or sports teams.

Whom was Lemmy bassist for? Motörhead!

pron

Honorific alternative letter-case form of whom, sometimes used when referring to God or another important figure who is understood from context.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

to whom it may concern

Used as a formal salutation in a letter when the writer does not know the recipient or the identity of the recipient.

to whom this may concern

Synonym of to whom it may concern.

it's not what you know but whom you know

Alternative form of it's not what you know but who you know.

Example Bank

Whom did you ask?

Wiktionary

To whom are you referring?

Wiktionary

You don't marry someone you can live with — you marry the person whom you cannot live without.

Tatoeba · #1853

Whom are you speaking of?

Tatoeba · #15907

For whom will you vote for president?

Tatoeba · #22346

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, whom is marked as formal, informal. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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