Ahab
Americannoun
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Bible. a king of Israel and husband of Jezebel, reigned 874?–853? b.c. null Achab
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Literature. the captain of the ship Pequod and tragic hero of Melville's Moby Dick, obsessed with the pursuit of the white whale.
noun
Etymology
Origin of Ahab
From Hebrew Aḥʾābh, probably “father's brother”
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.
A wise elder compares Hitler to Captain Ahab in “Moby-Dick,” with Germany as his doomed Pequod.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 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
On long fishing days, Captain Ahab is someone to talk to.
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
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.
