whore
noun
a person who engages in sex acts for money; prostitute.
whore
1 American
[hawr]
/ hɔr /
noun
whores
plural
-
a person who engages in sex acts for money; prostitute.
-
Disparaging and Offensive. a person who is sexually promiscuous.
-
a person who sacrifices personal principles or uses someone or something in a base or unworthy manner, usually for money.
a greedy publicity whore.
verb (used without object)
whores,
present (3rd person singular)
whored,
past participle, past
whoring
present participle
-
to act as a whore.
-
to consort with whores.
-
to seek after something that is base or unworthy.
those who practice idolatry and whore after other gods.
verb (used with object)
whores,
present (3rd person singular)
whored,
past participle, past
whoring
present participle
-
to put to a base or unworthy use (sometimes followed byout ).
He’s whoring out his skills by writing for popular magazines.
-
Obsolete. to make a whore of; corrupt; debauch.
who're
2
American
[hoo-er]
/ ˈhu ər /
whore
British
/ hɔː /
noun
verb
-
to be or act as a prostitute
-
(of a man) to have promiscuous sexual relations, esp with prostitutes
-
(often foll by after) to seek that which is immoral, idolatrous, etc
Usage
See contraction.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
whoresimple
-
whoressimple
-
have whoredperfect
-
has whoredperfect
-
am whoringprogressive
-
are whoringprogressive
-
is whoringprogressive
-
have been whoringperfect progressive
-
has been whoringperfect progressive
Past
-
whoredsimple
-
had whoredperfect
-
was whoringprogressive
-
were whoringprogressive
-
had been whoringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of whore
First recorded before 1100; Middle English, Old English hōre; cognate with German Hure, Old Norse hōra; akin to Gothic hors “harlot,” Latin cārus “beloved; expensive”
Explanation
In the original sense, a whore is a prostitute: someone who has sex for money. The word has since broadened to mean anyone who is money-hungry. Whores traditionally whored their bodies out for money. But today a whore can be a person that compromises himself in any kind of way for monetary gain. It's also a nasty thing to call someone (especially a woman) who has a lot of sex and is often used as a vulgar insult similar to bitch. It's not really an appropriate word to call someone, including actual prostitutes.
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.
Right away, we were stunned into silence by an enormous altarpiece teeming with skeletons, angels, the Whore of Babylon on her seven-headed steed.
From New York Times • Aug. 25, 2022
A relentless, intense drum loop decorated with squalls of sax, Tis Pity She Was a Whore was unlike anything Bowie had done before.
From The Guardian • Mar. 19, 2020
Scott Raab, the author of the anti–LeBron James manifesto The Whore of Akron, was later critical of those reporters who chose not to speak up about West’s locker room blowup.
From Slate • Jun. 4, 2014
Andrea Riseborough stars as spirited aristocrat Angelica Channel 4 has commissioned a sequel to The Devil's Whore, its 2008 Bafta-nominated historical drama series.
From BBC • Sep. 24, 2012
It will be seen that I have reserved Old Fortunatus and The Honest Whore for separate notice.
From A History of Elizabethan Literature by Saintsbury, George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
