What does whom mean?
Whom is the object form of the English pronoun who. It is used when a person is the object of a verb or preposition, as in “The person to whom I spoke,” and in formal relative clauses such as “the colleague whom I recommended.” Its use signals grammatical precision, formality, or an older literary register. In ordinary conversation, speakers usually say who in both positions, so whom can sound deliberate, traditional, or unnecessarily ceremonious. Even so, it remains important in formal writing, legal language, questions about case, and situations where the distinction between subject and object matters. Understanding whom also clarifies the related forms whose and whomsoever and shows how English preserves grammatical case distinctions that have largely disappeared from many other pronouns.
pronounWhom is the object form of the pronoun who, used after a verb or preposition, especially in formal or traditional contexts. It can also function as a relative pronoun referring to a person, as in “the author whom I admire.”
- An objective or object-case pronoun used after a verb or preposition, especially in formal, literary, legal, and archaic contexts.
- A relative pronoun used to introduce a clause referring to a person, especially in formal or literary contexts.
"The committee thanked the volunteers whom it had invited."
"The woman whom you saw was the principal."
"To whom should the completed application be returned?"
Whom is the object-case form of who, a tiny grammatical distinction that separates polished formality from everyday conversation.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does whom come from?
Whom comes from Old English hwām, an inflected form associated with the interrogative pronoun hwā, the ancestor of modern who. The form developed through the Middle English period and settled into its present function as the objective case of who. It belongs to a broader English family of interrogative and relative forms that includes who, whose, what, and when, all reflecting the same older Germanic interrogative word base.
Related word forms
How whom is actually used
Whom is standard in formal English but sounds markedly elevated in casual conversation. In everyday speech, who is commonly used for both subject and object positions, while whom remains especially useful in formal writing and precise grammatical distinctions.
Easily confused with whom
Who is the subject form, as in “Who called?”, while whom is the object form, as in “To whom did you speak?”