harpooner

American  

[hahr-poon-er] / hɑrˈpun ər /

noun

1. a person who uses a harpoon, especially to fish or to hunt marine animals.

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Example Sentences

Kent frames his illustration of Daggoo, the African crewman, darting a sperm whale from directly behind the harpooner, depicting him in muscular silhouette.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

I could easily imagine the harpooner as an eloquent representative of a nation in danger of being swallowed up by rising waters.

From Salon • Dec. 11, 2021

Well along in the epic of “Moby-Dick,” the master harpooner named Queequeg falls so ill that he is convinced he will die before the whaling ship Pequod returns to land.

From New York Times • Dec. 22, 2017

Queequeg, named after both the dog on “The X-Files” and the harpooner in “Moby-Dick,” was a tiny ball of German shepherd fuzz the first time my husband and I saw him.

From Washington Post • May 19, 2017

I never been out on Fin Chaser, but I know all about it because my dad used to be the best harpooner on the crew.

From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick