who's who

1 of 2

noun

ˌhüz-ˈhü How to pronounce who's who (audio)
variants often Who's Who
Synonyms of who's whonext
1
: a compilation of brief biographical sketches of prominent persons in a particular field
a who's who of sports figures
2
: the leaders of a group : elite
3
: a listing or grouping of notable persons or things

who's who

2 of 2

phrase

variant of who is who

: the identity of or the noteworthy facts about each of a number of persons

Examples of who's who in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
South Florida is rolling out the pink carpet for the who's who of the FIFA festivities. — Ted Scouten, CBS News, 5 June 2026 Since the podcast's premiere, Obama and Robinson have interviewed a who's who of Hollywood A-listers, including Bruce Springsteen, Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union, Kenan Thompson, Carol Burnett and Jimmy Kimmel. — Edward Segarra, USA Today, 2 June 2026
Phrase
Here's a who's who of the BT21 character line featured in the McDonald's BT21 Happy Meal, according to the BT21 Fandom wiki. — Rin Velasco, The Providence Journal, 10 July 2026 Heroes have to figure out who's who, what's going on, and if longtime friends are actual allies or extraterrestrial imposters. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 8 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for who's who

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1860, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of who's who was in 1860

Rhymes for who's who

See All Rhymes for who's who

Browse Nearby Words

who's counting?
who's who
whoa
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Who's who.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/who%27s%20who. Accessed 14 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on who's who

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for who's who

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about who's who

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of yaw

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All