Whitby

American

[hwit-bee, wit-] / ˈʰwɪt bi, ˈwɪt- /

noun

a port in SE Ontario, in S Canada, on Lake Ontario.
a seaport in E North Yorkshire, in NE England: ruins of an abbey; church council a.d. 664.

Whitby British

/ ˈwɪtbɪ /

noun

a fishing port and resort in NE England, in E North Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk: an important ecclesiastical centre in Anglo-Saxon times; site of an abbey founded in 656. Pop: 13 594 (2001) See also Synod of Whitby

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Tradition holds that the poem was composed by Caedmon, a cowherd from Whitby in present day North Yorkshire, after a divine visitation inspired him to sing.

From Science Daily • May 17, 2026

According to tradition, Caedmon worked as a laborer at Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire.

From Science Daily • May 17, 2026

Windswept Whitby sits on the east coast of Yorkshire, with its back to the North York Moors National Park and its face to the North Sea.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

I was a bit older when I encountered Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” which opens in the seaside town of Whitby, where cliffs overlook the sea in which the ill-fated ship Demeter meets its end.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

“It’s what we do here,” Mr. Whitby explained.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023