whose

[ hooz ]

pronoun

1. (the possessive case of who used as an adjective):

   Whose umbrella did I take? Whose is this one?

2. (the possessive case of which used as an adjective):

   a word whose meaning escapes me; an animal whose fur changes color.

3. the one or ones belonging to what person or persons:

   Whose painting won the third prize?

whose

/ huːz /

determiner

1. 1. of whom? belonging to whom? used in direct and indirect questions

      whose car is this?

      I told him whose fault it was

   2. ( as pronoun )

      whose is that?

2. of whom; belonging to whom; of which; belonging to which: used as a relative pronoun

   a house whose windows are broken

Usage Note

Sometimes the phrase of which is used as the possessive of which: Chicago is a city of which the attractions are many or Chicago is a city the attractions of which are many. The use of this phrase can often seem awkward or pretentious, whereas whose sounds more idiomatic: Chicago is a city whose attractions are many.

Word History and Origins

Origin of whose¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English whos, early Middle English hwās; replacing hwas, Old English hwæs, genitive of interrogative pronoun hwā who

Word History and Origins

Origin of whose¹

Old English hwæs, genitive of hwā who and hwæt what

Example Sentences

Then add in all bored people, as well as people whose job it is to report on celebrities.

From The Daily Beast

Cassandra, whose hair has already begun to fall out from her court-mandated chemotherapy, could face a similar outcome.

From The Daily Beast

Isolated lesbians learned that there were other women like them via books whose covers aimed to titillate heterosexual men.

From The Daily Beast

Duke was a state representative whose neo-Nazi alliances were disgorged in media reports during his run for governor in 1991.

From The Daily Beast

The gentleman was listed as Orthodox and kosher, which is way too religious for my friend whose JSwipe account I was test-driving.

From The Daily Beast

Bernard stood there face to face with Mrs. Vivian, whose eyes seemed to plead with him more than ever.

From Project Gutenberg

A Yankee, whose face had been mauled in a pot-house brawl, assured General Jackson that he had received his scars in battle.

From Project Gutenberg

Polavieja, as everybody knew, was the chosen executive of the friars, whose only care was to secure their own position.

From Project Gutenberg

Was a pupil of Caspar Netscher of Heidelberg, whose little pictures are of fabulous value.

From Project Gutenberg

The men, whose poniards his sword parried, had recourse to fire-arms, and two pistols were fired at him.

From Project Gutenberg