whom
whom Lexical Profile
whom Game Scores & Validity
• pronoun
Used as the objective case of 'who' to ask or specify which person or people receive the action of a verb or follow a preposition.
"To whom should I address the formal letter of recommendation?"
Used as a relative pronoun to introduce a clause referring to a previously mentioned person or group of people functioning as the object of a verb or preposition.
"The professor whom we consulted offered valuable insights into the archival documents."
Word Nuance & Usage
Use 'whom' when the pronoun functions as the object of a verb or preposition, and 'who' when it functions as the subject of a verb. In informal spoken English, 'who' frequently replaces 'whom' except immediately following a preposition (e.g., 'to whom it may concern').
• Rhymes for whom
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English whom, from Old English hwām, the dative singular form of hwā ('who', 'what'), ultimately derived from the Proto-Germanic interrogative stem *hwaz.