What does whim mean?

Definitions for whim
ʰwɪm, wɪmwhim

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word whim.

Princeton's WordNet

  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"

Wiktionary

  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 Dictionary

  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.

ChatGPT

  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 Dictionary

  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 Dictionary

  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 Contribution

  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 Resources

  1. WHIM

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

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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. Ryun King:

    You're pretty much at the whim of whoever is going to be able to cover that for you, ff you feel brave enough to even enter the establishment to say, 'yes, this was me, no, this isn't who I am,'.

  2. Ted Kennedy:

    Robert Bork America is a land in which women would be forced into back alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids and school children could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists would be censured at the whim of government.

  3. Supreme Court in Manhattan:

    Mr. Trump ran the Foundation according to his whim, rather than the law.

  4. Brandie Nonnecke:

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

  5. Committee Chairman David Cicilline:

    Companies... both large and small, have found themselves dependent on the arbitrary whim of these platform giants, one algorithm tweak away from ruin, because their decisions are largely unaccountable, opaque, and result in sweeping consequences, the dominant platforms effectively serve as private regulators.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for whim

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"whim." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/whim>.

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