See who's who in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for who's who meaning in English (7.7kB)
{
"etymology_text": "From Who's Who, the British publication of biographies for the upper class, first published in 1849.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "who's whos",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "~"
},
"expansion": "who's who (countable and uncountable, plural who's whos)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "18 18 2 24 16 22",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "People",
"orig": "en:People",
"parents": [
"Human",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1914, The Everyman Encyclopædia",
"text": "Nearly every country has now a Who's Who, which gives a brief outline of the life and work of living men who have distinguished themselves in various ways."
},
{
"ref": "2001, James H. Sweetland, Fundamental Reference Sources, Chicago and London: American Library Association, page 243",
"text": "But when a living person's profession or vocation is known, it is well to consult first a biographical dictionary in that field, for it often contains more names than the more general who's whos.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A publication containing biographies of well-known or important people."
],
"id": "en-who's_who-en-noun-NWcrGGvk",
"links": [
[
"capitalized",
"capitalisation"
],
[
"publication",
"publication"
],
[
"biographies",
"biography"
],
[
"well-known",
"well-known"
],
[
"important",
"important"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(countable, sometimes capitalized) A publication containing biographies of well-known or important people."
],
"tags": [
"capitalized",
"countable",
"sometimes"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "71 9 2 8 6 4",
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "publication containing biographies of well-known or important people",
"word": "blå bog"
},
{
"_dis1": "71 9 2 8 6 4",
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "publication containing biographies of well-known or important people",
"word": "Kraks blå bog"
},
{
"_dis1": "71 9 2 8 6 4",
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "publication containing biographies of well-known or important people",
"word": "ki kicsoda"
},
{
"_dis1": "71 9 2 8 6 4",
"code": "no",
"lang": "Norwegian",
"sense": "publication containing biographies of well-known or important people",
"word": "hvem som er hvem"
},
{
"_dis1": "71 9 2 8 6 4",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "kto jestʹ kto",
"sense": "publication containing biographies of well-known or important people",
"word": "кто есть кто"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "8 17 16 31 3 27",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"parents": [
"Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "18 18 2 24 16 22",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "People",
"orig": "en:People",
"parents": [
"Human",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2010 February 11, “Dealer to the who’s who of Australian art”, in Sydney Morning Herald",
"text": "With glittering names from a who's who of Australian art on her walls she would laugh: \"Not just glittering names, glittering examples of their work, too.\"",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A list of notable, famous, or upper-class people."
],
"id": "en-who's_who-en-noun-Bo37Z2fo",
"links": [
[
"notable",
"notable"
],
[
"famous",
"famous"
],
[
"upper-class",
"upper-class"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(countable) A list of notable, famous, or upper-class people."
],
"tags": [
"countable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "8 17 16 31 3 27",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"parents": [
"Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Collectively, the elite class."
],
"id": "en-who's_who-en-noun-S92MbQWM",
"links": [
[
"elite",
"elite"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable) Collectively, the elite class."
],
"tags": [
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "8 22 19 34 2 15",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "8 17 16 31 3 27",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"parents": [
"Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "7 17 22 33 3 18",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"parents": [
"Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "9 19 23 33 2 14",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Collectives",
"orig": "en:Collectives",
"parents": [
"Miscellaneous",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "18 18 2 24 16 22",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "People",
"orig": "en:People",
"parents": [
"Human",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1942, Milwaukee Journal",
"text": "Sixty-one From Wisconsin Make Debut as Who's Whos [headline]:",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A person appearing in a Who's Who publication."
],
"id": "en-who's_who-en-noun-csAthGVr",
"raw_glosses": [
"(countable) A person appearing in a Who's Who publication."
],
"related": [
{
"_dis1": "1 5 3 76 13 3",
"word": "what's what"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "1 5 3 76 13 3",
"word": "Who's Who"
}
],
"tags": [
"countable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "18 18 2 24 16 22",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "People",
"orig": "en:People",
"parents": [
"Human",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A celebrity or famous person, someone likely to be in such a publication."
],
"id": "en-who's_who-en-noun--WZ96yS9",
"links": [
[
"celebrity",
"celebrity"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(countable) A celebrity or famous person, someone likely to be in such a publication."
],
"tags": [
"countable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "8 17 16 31 3 27",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"parents": [
"Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "18 18 2 24 16 22",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "People",
"orig": "en:People",
"parents": [
"Human",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1902, W. W. Jacobs, chapter 5, in At Sunwich Port",
"text": "\"I'll learn 'im to insult a respectable British tradesman. I'll show him who's who.\"",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The identities of specific people, understood in terms of such distinguishing characteristics as their backgrounds, prominence, achievements, jobs, etc., as a basis for comparing them and especially as a basis for ranking them within a social group."
],
"id": "en-who's_who-en-noun-qw3TuxLx",
"links": [
[
"identities",
"identity"
],
[
"specific",
"specific"
],
[
"distinguish",
"distinguish"
],
[
"characteristic",
"characteristic"
],
[
"background",
"background"
],
[
"prominence",
"prominence"
],
[
"achievement",
"achievement"
],
[
"job",
"job"
],
[
"comparing",
"compare"
],
[
"ranking",
"ranking"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable, idiomatic) The identities of specific people, understood in terms of such distinguishing characteristics as their backgrounds, prominence, achievements, jobs, etc., as a basis for comparing them and especially as a basis for ranking them within a social group."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic",
"uncountable"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-who's who.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/22/En-au-who%27s_who.ogg/En-au-who%27s_who.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/En-au-who%27s_who.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "who's who"
}
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English nouns",
"English terms with audio links",
"English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"English uncountable nouns",
"en:Collectives",
"en:People"
],
"etymology_text": "From Who's Who, the British publication of biographies for the upper class, first published in 1849.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "who's whos",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "~"
},
"expansion": "who's who (countable and uncountable, plural who's whos)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"related": [
{
"word": "what's what"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1914, The Everyman Encyclopædia",
"text": "Nearly every country has now a Who's Who, which gives a brief outline of the life and work of living men who have distinguished themselves in various ways."
},
{
"ref": "2001, James H. Sweetland, Fundamental Reference Sources, Chicago and London: American Library Association, page 243",
"text": "But when a living person's profession or vocation is known, it is well to consult first a biographical dictionary in that field, for it often contains more names than the more general who's whos.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A publication containing biographies of well-known or important people."
],
"links": [
[
"capitalized",
"capitalisation"
],
[
"publication",
"publication"
],
[
"biographies",
"biography"
],
[
"well-known",
"well-known"
],
[
"important",
"important"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(countable, sometimes capitalized) A publication containing biographies of well-known or important people."
],
"tags": [
"capitalized",
"countable",
"sometimes"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2010 February 11, “Dealer to the who’s who of Australian art”, in Sydney Morning Herald",
"text": "With glittering names from a who's who of Australian art on her walls she would laugh: \"Not just glittering names, glittering examples of their work, too.\"",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A list of notable, famous, or upper-class people."
],
"links": [
[
"notable",
"notable"
],
[
"famous",
"famous"
],
[
"upper-class",
"upper-class"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(countable) A list of notable, famous, or upper-class people."
],
"tags": [
"countable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English uncountable nouns"
],
"glosses": [
"Collectively, the elite class."
],
"links": [
[
"elite",
"elite"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable) Collectively, the elite class."
],
"tags": [
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English terms with quotations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1942, Milwaukee Journal",
"text": "Sixty-one From Wisconsin Make Debut as Who's Whos [headline]:",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A person appearing in a Who's Who publication."
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(countable) A person appearing in a Who's Who publication."
],
"tags": [
"countable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns"
],
"glosses": [
"A celebrity or famous person, someone likely to be in such a publication."
],
"links": [
[
"celebrity",
"celebrity"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(countable) A celebrity or famous person, someone likely to be in such a publication."
],
"tags": [
"countable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English idioms",
"English terms with quotations",
"English uncountable nouns",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1902, W. W. Jacobs, chapter 5, in At Sunwich Port",
"text": "\"I'll learn 'im to insult a respectable British tradesman. I'll show him who's who.\"",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The identities of specific people, understood in terms of such distinguishing characteristics as their backgrounds, prominence, achievements, jobs, etc., as a basis for comparing them and especially as a basis for ranking them within a social group."
],
"links": [
[
"identities",
"identity"
],
[
"specific",
"specific"
],
[
"distinguish",
"distinguish"
],
[
"characteristic",
"characteristic"
],
[
"background",
"background"
],
[
"prominence",
"prominence"
],
[
"achievement",
"achievement"
],
[
"job",
"job"
],
[
"comparing",
"compare"
],
[
"ranking",
"ranking"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable, idiomatic) The identities of specific people, understood in terms of such distinguishing characteristics as their backgrounds, prominence, achievements, jobs, etc., as a basis for comparing them and especially as a basis for ranking them within a social group."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic",
"uncountable"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-who's who.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/22/En-au-who%27s_who.ogg/En-au-who%27s_who.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/En-au-who%27s_who.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "Who's Who"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "publication containing biographies of well-known or important people",
"word": "blå bog"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "publication containing biographies of well-known or important people",
"word": "Kraks blå bog"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "publication containing biographies of well-known or important people",
"word": "ki kicsoda"
},
{
"code": "no",
"lang": "Norwegian",
"sense": "publication containing biographies of well-known or important people",
"word": "hvem som er hvem"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "kto jestʹ kto",
"sense": "publication containing biographies of well-known or important people",
"word": "кто есть кто"
}
],
"word": "who's who"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (93a6c53 and 21a9316). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.