whose

1 of 2

adjective

ˈhüz 

üz

: of or relating to whom or which especially as possessor or possessors,

Whose gorgeous vesture heaps the ground?

—Robert Browning

agent or agents,

… the law courts, whose decisions were important …

—F. L. Mott

or object or objects of an action

… the first poem whose publication he ever sanctioned …

—J. W. Krutch

Note: Do not confuse whose with who's, which is a contraction of "who is" ("the child who's giggling") or of "who has" ("the one who's helped before").

whose

2 of 2

pronoun

singular or plural in construction

: that which belongs to whom

—used without a following noun as a pronoun equivalent in meaning to the adjective whose

… tell me whose it was.

—William Shakespeare

Examples of whose in a Sentence

Adjective

The granddaddy of all metafictional novels was Tristram Shandy, whose narrator's dialogues with his imaginary readers are only one of many ways in which Sterne foregrounds the gap between art and life that conventional realism seeks to conceal. —David Lodge, The Art of Fiction, 1992

In early times when I sat with my grandfather … I was puzzled about the relation between the Davis who had lived in a world of great events and my Old Jeff, whose name had entered into the common speech of the region … —Robert Penn Warren, Jefferson Davis Gets His Citizenship Back, 1980

He was a flamboyant, excited person whose eyes darted here and there, like a child's, afraid of what they might miss. —E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime, 1974

Pronoun

Though life here is a dangerous business for olive trees, in summer the children roam the streets alone, and well into the night. Everyone knows whose are whose, and keeps an eye out. —David Leavitt, Travel & Leisure, May 2000

And now for the Ignorance and Folly which he reproaches us with, let us see (if we are Fools and Ignoramus's) whose is the Fault, the Men's or our's. —Benjamin Franklin 28 May 1722, in Benjamin Franklin Writings,  1987

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Many of the calls were from retailers whose business was looted before becoming engulfed in flames. —Fox News, 3 June 2020

The latter company once was owned by Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage. —Jennifer Henderson and Hollie Silverman, CNN, 2 June 2020

The Department of Veterans Affairs, whose headquarters on Vermont Avenue is steps from the White House, ordered all nonessential employees to go home by noon on Monday. —Anchorage Daily News, 2 June 2020

Five officers picked up Owensby, whose face was cut and bleeding, and put him in the back of a police cruiser. —Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati.com, 2 June 2020

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Pronoun

Middle English whos, genitive of who, what

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Pronoun

12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing whose

• whose time has come

Rhymes for whose

• blues
• boos
• booze
• brews
• bruise
• chews
• choose
• chuse
• clews
• clues
• coups
• crews

Kids Definition

whose

1 of 2 adjective

(ˈ)hüz 

üz

: of or relating to whom or which

whose bag is it

the book whose cover is torn

whose

2 of 2 singular or plural pronoun

: whose one : whose ones

whose is it

whose were they