whoever

pronoun

who·​ev·​er hü-ˈe-vər How to pronounce whoever (audio)
: whatever person : no matter who
used in any grammatical relation except that of a possessive
sells to whoever has the money to buy

Examples of whoever in a Sentence

A prize will be given to whoever solves the riddle. Whoever wants to come along is welcome to join us. He's an honest man, whoever his friends might be. Whoever did this will be held accountable.

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of whoever was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near whoever

Cite this Entry

“Whoever.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whoever. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

whoever

pronoun
who·​ev·​er hü-ˈev-ər How to pronounce whoever (audio)
: whatever person
whoever wants to come along must be ready

More from Merriam-Webster on whoever

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!