who's

1.0

A short form of who is or who has used in speaking and writing

auxiliary
/huːz/

Informal

: quién es

Who's responsible for organizing the meeting tomorrow morning?

Examples

Do you know who's finished their homework already?
I wonder who's coming to the party this weekend.
Who's going to the party tonight?
Who's been eating all the cookies?
Who's going to the party tonight?
Who's responsible for organizing the meeting tomorrow morning?
I wonder who's coming to the party this weekend.

Idioms

to show who's boss

Informal

7.7

To make others see you are in charge

who's counting

Informal

8.6

To say as a joke that the exact number does not matter

Surface Forms

who's infinitive

whos infinitive

Morphology

who's = who (transparent) = who + 's

A straightforward contraction of 'who is' or 'who has'; learners familiar with English contractions will readily recognise it.

Etymology

Who's is a short form of who is or who has; it joins the two words into one, like it's or he's. So when you hear who's, think 'who is' or 'who has', because it asks about a person's identity or about what they have done.