blubber
Americannoun
-
Zoology. the fat layer between the skin and muscle of whales and other cetaceans, from which oil is made.
-
excess body fat.
-
an act of weeping noisily and without restraint.
verb (used without object)
-
blubbers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
blubbered,
past participle, past
-
blubbering
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
blubbers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
blubbered,
past participle, past
-
blubbering
present participle
-
to say, especially incoherently, while weeping.
The child seemed to be blubbering something about a lost ring.
-
to contort or disfigure (the features) with weeping.
adjective
-
disfigured with blubbering; blubbery.
She dried her blubber eyes.
-
fatty; swollen; puffed out (usually used in combination).
thick, blubber lips; blubber-faced.
verb
-
to sob without restraint
-
to utter while sobbing
-
(tr) to make (the face) wet and swollen or disfigured by crying
noun
-
a thick insulating layer of fatty tissue below the skin of aquatic mammals such as the whale: used by man as a source of oil
-
informal excessive and flabby body fat
-
the act or an instance of weeping without restraint
-
an informal name for jellyfish
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
blubbersimple
-
blubberssimple
-
have blubberedperfect
-
has blubberedperfect
-
am blubberingprogressive
-
are blubberingprogressive
-
is blubberingprogressive
-
have been blubberingperfect progressive
-
has been blubberingperfect progressive
Past
-
blubberedsimple
-
had blubberedperfect
-
was blubberingprogressive
-
were blubberingprogressive
-
had been blubberingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of blubber
1250–1300; Middle English bluber bubble, bubbling water, entrails, whale oil; apparently imitative
Explanation
Blubber is the thick layer of fat that keeps whales and other large swimming mammals warm in the cold water. Inuits and other northern people have traditionally relied on eating blubber. Based on marine animal blubber, some people describe human fat as blubber too — often in a derogatory way. When blubber is a verb, it means to sob uncontrollably: "The little girl sat down and started to blubber after skinning her knee." Blubber was originally spelled blober, meaning "a bubble" or "bubbling water," which led to the "crying" meaning of the word. In the 15th century, it also meant "jellyfish" and "whale oil."
Vocabulary lists containing blubber
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Instead of "Said": Words For Sad Speech
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Without fail, the miniature version of me would blubber at Sully the polka dot monster reuniting with Boo, and Marlin the clownfish traversing the ocean to find his son.
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026
And yet now whales that were once hunted for their oil are falling victim to the effects of the petroleum or “rock oil” that replaced their melted blubber as a source of light and lubrication.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2026
The country is one of only three in the world that still allow whaling - where whales are hunted for their meat, blubber and oil - along with Japan and Norway.
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2024
They swim slowly and near shore, have thick blubber and float when killed, according to Jessica Crance, a research biologist with the Cetacean Assessment and Ecology Program at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
From Seattle Times ● May 27, 2024
Their floe was soon dirty with blubber soot, dog droppings, sealskins, penguin heads, and other garbage, but the men all adjusted to a new set of standards without complaint.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
The singer himself told The Times in 1992 that the album’s hit ballad, in which a grizzled narrator blubbers over the one that got away, “had a real strong emotional peak on the record.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
No other show sent me ping-ponging between uncontrollable giggles and mask-dampening blubbers.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 7, 2021
Junior blubbers and begs … and finally, to Krug’s satisfaction, does as he’s told.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 1, 2015
But if you are planning to take this book to the beach, beware it might get your towel soggy; for almost 300 pages Hannah bawls, blubbers, wails, and weeps.
From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2012
But really I’m thinking, what can you do with a man who blubbers when you make him pancakes?
From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick
One night she introduced herself to Jones, who was directing her then-boyfriend in a short play, and, by Waller-Bridge’s account, blubbered incoherently about being an actress.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2019
“And yet I still separate my career to before February 2017 and what came after,” he blubbered between heaves of tattle-crying.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 28, 2019
Bubba blubbered after each of his other three victories, too.
From Chicago Tribune ● Apr. 9, 2012
“A bunch of sandlotters, those Mets,” he blubbered.
From New York Times ● Feb. 20, 2012
Another mouth appeared along the creature’s shoulder; this one blubbered and gnashed.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
On restaurant outings I have pulled up a scene from the cinematic gem “Hoosiers” and gotten choked up while my kids prayed I wouldn’t still be blubbering when the waiter came.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
You’re going to just get stern and I’m just going to be a blubbering idiot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2023
And I think, you know, it's kind of amazing that Hank comes to him just blubbering and in tears, and the fact that he wants to open up a franchise with him is like, "What?"
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2022
"That moment, being about to be announced as Olympic champions, I was gone. I was blubbering," said Daley.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2021
I hear Biddy in her room, blubbering into her tape maybe.
From "Girls Like Us" by Gail Giles
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
