Definitions for whim
ʰwɪm, wɪmwhim

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.0 / 2 votes

1. caprice, impulse, whimnoun

   a sudden desire

   "he bought it on an impulse"

2. notion, whim, whimsy, whimseynoun

   an odd or fanciful or capricious idea

   "the theatrical notion of disguise is associated with disaster in his stories"; "he had a whimsy about flying to the moon"; "whimsy can be humorous to someone with time to enjoy it"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. whimnoun

   A fanciful impulse, or whimsical idea

2. whimnoun

   A large capstan or vertical drum turned by horse power or steam power, for raising ore or water, etc., from mines, or for other purposes

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. WHIMnoun

   A freak; an odd fancy; a caprice; an irregular motion of desire.

   Etymology: This word is derived by Stephen Skinner from a thing turning round; nor can I find any etymology more probable.

   All the superfluous whims relate,
   That fill a female gamester’s pate. Jonathan Swift.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. whim

   A whim is a sudden or impulsive desire, decision, or change of mind, often occurring without any logical reasoning or deep consideration. It is often associated with unpredictable or spontaneous behavior.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. Whimnoun

   the European widgeon

2. Whimnoun

   a sudden turn or start of the mind; a temporary eccentricity; a freak; a fancy; a capricious notion; a humor; a caprice

3. Whimnoun

   a large capstan or vertical drum turned by horse power or steam power, for raising ore or water, etc., from mines, or for other purposes; -- called also whim gin, and whimsey

4. Whimverb

   to be subject to, or indulge in, whims; to be whimsical, giddy, or freakish

5. Etymology: [Cf. Whimbrel.]

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. Whim

   hwim, n. a caprice: a fancy: a machine for raising ore, a mine.—v.i. to turn round, to be seized with a whim.—v.t. to cause to turn.—adjs. Whim′my, Whim′sical, full of whims, odd, fantastical.—ns. Whimsical′ity, Whim′sicalness.—adv. Whim′sically.—ns. Whim′sy, Whim′sey, a whim, freak.—adj. full of whims, changeable.—n. Whim′-wham, a ridiculous notion or thing, a freak, an odd device. [Ice. hvima, to have the eyes wandering.]

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Whim

   An impulsive thought to do something without any rationale or excuse,usually where buying goods are concerned.

   I did it on a whim!

   
   

   Submitted by JP03 on October 30, 2014  

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. WHIM

   What does WHIM stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the WHIM acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Desire
   • Idea

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

1. [["1581","1"],["1590","4"],["1635","2"],["1648","1"],["1653","1"],["1656","1"],["1666","1"],["1672","1"],["1673","1"],["1675","1"],["1678","1"],["1680","1"],["1682","2"],["1685","1"],["1686","1"],["1689","1"],["1694","1"],["1697","1"],["1698","3"],["1699","1"],["1700","1"],["1701","2"],["1703","1"],["1705","1"],["1709","7"],["1710","1"],["1711","1"],["1712","1"],["1713","1"],["1714","2"],["1715","1"],["1716","2"],["1718","1"],["1719","1"],["1721","5"],["1722","7"],["1723","2"],["1725","1"],["1726","1"],["1727","4"],["1728","12"],["1729","10"],["1730","6"],["1731","14"],["1732","13"],["1733","6"],["1734","3"],["1735","4"],["1736","2"],["1737","7"],["1738","1"],["1739","8"],["1740","2"],["1741","3"],["1742","6"],["1743","2"],["1744","5"],["1745","4"],["1746","3"],["1747","4"],["1748","14"],["1749","16"],["1750","8"],["1751","23"],["1752","20"],["1753","15"],["1754","47"],["1755","47"],["1756","22"],["1757","12"],["1758","21"],["1759","19"],["1760","41"],["1761","26"],["1762","33"],["1763","36"],["1764","40"],["1765","36"],["1766","73"],["1767","57"],["1768","87"],["1769","35"],["1770","98"],["1771","30"],["1772","40"],["1773","21"],["1774","42"],["1775","35"],["1776","50"],["1777","49"],["1778","42"],["1779","31"],["1780","33"],["1781","64"],["1782","66"],["1783","38"],["1784","64"],["1785","60"],["1786","70"],["1787","51"],["1788","68"],["1789","99"],["1790","54"],["1791","88"],["1792","123"],["1793","90"],["1794","116"],["1795","112"],["1796","160"],["1797","90"],["1798","133"],["1799","112"],["1800","180"],["1801","243"],["1802","144"],["1803","196"],["1804","211"],["1805","245"],["1806","287"],["1807","249"],["1808","306"],["1809","260"],["1810","246"],["1811","385"],["1812","260"],["1813","291"],["1814","369"],["1815","338"],["1816","267"],["1817","305"],["1818","313"],["1819","301"],["1820","573"],["1821","274"],["1822","495"],["1823","501"],["1824","945"],["1825","708"],["1826","522"],["1827","481"],["1828","446"],["1829","387"],["1830","576"],["1831","596"],["1832","584"],["1833","484"],["1834","694"],["1835","889"],["1836","657"],["1837","888"],["1838","644"],["1839","799"],["1840","704"],["1841","674"],["1842","481"],["1843","616"],["1844","624"],["1845","672"],["1846","903"],["1847","665"],["1848","846"],["1849","840"],["1850","1017"],["1851","915"],["1852","1037"],["1853","1155"],["1854","1341"],["1855","962"],["1856","1204"],["1857","977"],["1858","851"],["1859","920"],["1860","1510"],["1861","746"],["1862","734"],["1863","776"],["1864","1079"],["1865","962"],["1866","983"],["1867","971"],["1868","1049"],["1869","1196"],["1870","876"],["1871","1210"],["1872","1378"],["1873","1166"],["1874","1277"],["1875","1149"],["1876","1365"],["1877","1101"],["1878","1231"],["1879","1122"],["1880","1618"],["1881","1552"],["1882","1739"],["1883","2185"],["1884","1786"],["1885","1756"],["1886","1541"],["1887","1865"],["1888","1746"],["1889","1390"],["1890","1684"],["1891","1713"],["1892","2060"],["1893","1816"],["1894","1811"],["1895","1887"],["1896","2220"],["1897","2432"],["1898","2532"],["1899","3068"],["1900","3825"],["1901","3194"],["1902","3226"],["1903","2828"],["1904","3329"],["1905","2956"],["1906","2979"],["1907","3000"],["1908","3325"],["1909","2890"],["1910","2956"],["1911","2986"],["1912","2923"],["1913","2796"],["1914","2795"],["1915","2378"],["1916","2557"],["1917","2419"],["1918","2069"],["1919","2505"],["1920","2999"],["1921","2659"],["1922","3111"],["1923","2572"],["1924","2731"],["1925","2568"],["1926","2399"],["1927","2833"],["1928","2754"],["1929","2775"],["1930","2661"],["1931","2732"],["1932","2084"],["1933","2004"],["1934","2400"],["1935","2585"],["1936","2401"],["1937","2299"],["1938","2457"],["1939","2279"],["1940","2216"],["1941","1996"],["1942","1789"],["1943","1643"],["1944","1589"],["1945","1737"],["1946","2604"],["1947","2619"],["1948","2802"],["1949","3093"],["1950","3302"],["1951","2860"],["1952","2975"],["1953","2927"],["1954","3131"],["1955","3227"],["1956","3487"],["1957","3534"],["1958","3677"],["1959","3647"],["1960","4255"],["1961","4558"],["1962","4835"],["1963","5145"],["1964","5298"],["1965","5889"],["1966","6120"],["1967","6665"],["1968","7299"],["1969","6938"],["1970","7373"],["1971","7042"],["1972","7105"],["1973","6717"],["1974","6403"],["1975","6373"],["1976","6904"],["1977","7098"],["1978","7108"],["1979","7013"],["1980","6936"],["1981","7220"],["1982","7344"],["1983","7796"],["1984","7925"],["1985","8150"],["1986","8684"],["1987","9149"],["1988","9760"],["1989","9825"],["1990","10537"],["1991","10447"],["1992","10860"],["1993","11359"],["1994","11803"],["1995","12397"],["1996","12955"],["1997","13279"],["1998","14180"],["1999","14637"],["2000","17216"],["2001","17255"],["2002","18935"],["2003","21370"],["2004","24710"],["2005","23297"],["2006","24914"],["2007","29291"],["2008","42674"]]

How to pronounce whim?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say whim in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of whim in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of whim in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of whim in a Sentence

1. James Reston:

   This is the devilish thing about foreign affairs they are foreign and will not always conform to our whim.

2. Jamaal Bowman:

   It's the move towards privatization, it's driven by market-based ideology and the so-called, quote-unquote' choice movement.' So when we talk about vouchers and money moving with kids at the whim of the parents, that's what we're talking about. And it's an example of disaster capitalism within the public education sector.

3. James Gunn:

   There are a lot of heartless, soulless, spectacle films out there that don't reflect what should be happening, i can't tell you the amount of times I've talked to film directors before they went and made a big movie, and said, 'Hey, we're in this together, let's do something different with these big movies. Let's make them something different than everything that has come before them.' And then see them cater to every single studio whim and be grossed out, frankly.

4. Brandie Nonnecke:

   They shouldn't just be deciding on a whim what they want to do.

5. Evelyn Waugh:

   If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with a stranger at a bar, they can conscientiously describe him as a source that has hitherto proved unimpeachable. It is only when the journalist is reporting a whim of his own, and one to which he attaches minor importance, that he defines it as the opinion of well-informed circles.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=whim
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Whim
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=whim
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whim
6. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=whim
7. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=whim