Ahab

American  

[ey-hab] / ˈeɪ hæb /

noun

1. Bible. a king of Israel and husband of Jezebel, reigned 874?–853? b.c. null Achab

2. Literature. the captain of the ship Pequod and tragic hero of Melville's Moby Dick, obsessed with the pursuit of the white whale.

---

Ahab British  

/ ˈeɪhæb /

noun

1. Old Testament the king of Israel from approximately 869 to 850 _bc and husband of Jezebel: rebuked by Elijah (I Kings 16:29–22:40)

---

Etymology

Origin of Ahab

From Hebrew Aḥʾābh, probably “father's brother”

Example Sentences

The perspective angles skyward in the picture of a frenzied-looking Ahab displaying the gold doubloon he has promised to the man who can kill Moby-Dick.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

Okay, he’s going to make Melville’s Captain Ahab look like Barry Allen?

From Salon • Nov. 28, 2024

Then Elliott pointed out the open side of the bus toward the corner of Sunset and Doheny like Ahab spotting Moby Dick.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 16, 2023

“And she’s Captain Ahab and she wants to get the big whale. She ain’t gonna get the big whale. She’ll go down. The big whale will laugh at her.”

From Washington Times • Jun. 14, 2023

Ishmael was all right, but Ahab he could not respect and this ultimately undermined the book for him.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson