who's who

noun

often capitalized both Ws
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

Examples of who's who in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Martin is palpably excited when discussing the album with Brown, alongside not just O'Brien but also a who's who of rock and roots music including Jackson Browne, Sierra Hull and Aoife O'Donovan. Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025 The guest list reads like a who's who of music, movies, and comedy: Jack Black, Benny Blanco, Ice Spice, Kel Mitchell, Victoria Monét, with more set to appear. Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 June 2025 The celebrity guest list at the spring/summer NYFW runway shows was the who's who of music, Hollywood, sports and, of course, fashion. Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 4 Feb. 2025 Monday of the conference, the first day, is a veritable who's who to rub shoulders with on the intimate ADGM campus while recovering from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix F1 celebrations the evening before. Lawrence Wintermeyer, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for who's who

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of who's who was in 1917

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Cite this Entry

“Who's who.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/who%27s%20who. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.

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