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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

whim

/wɪm/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
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What does whim mean?

noun

  1. A fanciful impulse, or sudden change of idea.
  2. 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.
  3. A bird, the Eurasian wigeon.
More meanings (2)

noun

  1. Initialism of warm-hot intergalactic medium.

verb

  1. (rare) To be seized with a whim; to be capricious.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/wɪm/

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Other dictionary pronunciations

/hwɪm/
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

A thoughtless whim seized Thornton, and he drew the attention of Hans and Pete to the experiment he had in mind.
Jack LondonThe call of the wildProject Gutenberg ebook #215
Unless you eulogize whatever they say or do, unless you adapt yourself to their slightest whim, they become angry with you.
Martin LutherCommentary on the Epistle to the GalatiansTranslated by Theodore GraebnerProject Gutenberg ebook #1549
More book examples (3)
The insistent whim seized him, as he still bent thus before his people, to whisper to his own heart, “At last!--The dogs!”
Harold FredericThe Damnation of Theron WareProject Gutenberg ebook #133
Is it the whim of a nomenclator, at a loss for words to denote the ever-swelling tide of beasts that require cataloguing?
Jean-Henri FabreThe Life of the SpiderTranslated by Alexander Teixeira de MattosProject Gutenberg ebook #1887
One morning Ona stayed home, and Jurgis had the man-doctor, according to his whim, and she was safely delivered of a fine baby.
Upton SinclairThe JungleProject Gutenberg ebook #140