1
: a capricious or eccentric and often sudden idea or turn of the mind : fancy
quit his job on a whim
2
: a large capstan that is made with one or more radiating arms to which a horse may be yoked and that is used in mines for raising ore or water
Synonyms of whim
Examples of whim in a Sentence
It's hard to predict voters' whims.
on a whim, we stopped at the roadside stand to get ice cream
Recent Examples on the Web
Bad weather the past two weekends hasn't helped the situation as hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled, and passengers were at the whim of changing flight schedules.
—
Irene Wright, USA Today, 18 Mar. 2026
There are precious few roads, and nothing is impervious to the whims of weather.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 16 Mar. 2026
Rick and Danny come out looking like neither role models nor villains, but just two imperfect men brought together by the whims of fate and a sincere passion for their art.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 16 Mar. 2026
At some point this past fall, Hegseth’s under-secretary for research and engineering, the former Uber executive Emil Michael, reviewed the Pentagon’s arrangement with Anthropic and was dismayed to find that Claude could not be deployed according to the government’s every whim.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for whim
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Irene Wright, USA Today, 18 Mar. 2026
There are precious few roads, and nothing is impervious to the whims of weather.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 16 Mar. 2026
Rick and Danny come out looking like neither role models nor villains, but just two imperfect men brought together by the whims of fate and a sincere passion for their art.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 16 Mar. 2026
At some point this past fall, Hegseth’s under-secretary for research and engineering, the former Uber executive Emil Michael, reviewed the Pentagon’s arrangement with Anthropic and was dismayed to find that Claude could not be deployed according to the government’s every whim.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for whim
Cite this Entry
“Whim.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whim. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
whim
noun
ˈhwim 
ˈwim
: an odd or sudden wish, desire, or change of mind
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