who's who
/ˌhuːz ˈhuː/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.84 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
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.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "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."
- "In the growing who's who of Negro educators, the name of Cleo W. Blackburn, 45, ranks high."
- "Mr. Clinton's candidates, a veritable who's who of New York Democrats, include Carol Bellamy, the former City Council president; Sandra Feldman, head of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City, and Representative Gary L. Ackerman of Queens."
- "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.""
- "Sixty-one From Wisconsin Make Debut as Who's Whos [headline]:"
Etymology
From Who's Who, the British publication of biographies for the upper class, first published in 1849.