any of several cetaceans, as a grampus.
a mythical monster, as an ogre.
any of various whales, such as the killer and grampus
one of an imaginary race of evil goblins, esp in the fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien
First recorded in 1520–30; partly from Middle French orque, a kind of whale, partly from Italian orca “large whale, fabulous sea monster,” partly from Latin orca, a kind of whale; see origin at orca ( def. ); see also Orcus ( def. ), ogre
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The spell is only broken when the night ends, not with an out-of-control orc or goblin but with something far more mundane: a bill.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 4, 2024
At another, Monet challenged an orc to solitaire instead of fighting it.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 24, 2024
Because it was Adar, called “father” by his orc followers, who killed Sauron to protect his people.
From New York Times • Oct. 4, 2022
I'm using pots and pans on orcs, and Elijah's got the mithril vest to stave off the orc, or the whatever, the cave troll stabs him with the spear.
From Salon • Jan. 24, 2022
The orc in its wild haste had tripped on the ladder-head and fallen through the open trap-door.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
