whaler

[hwey-ler, wey-]

noun

1. a person or vessel employed in whaling. whale. whaling.

whaler

/ ˈweɪlə /

noun

1. Also called (US): whaleman. a person employed in whaling

2. a vessel engaged in whaling See factory ship whale catcher

3. another word for whaleboat

4. a nomad surviving in the bush without working

5. short for whaler shark

Word History and Origins

Origin of whaler¹

First recorded in 1675–85; whale ¹ + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Their evidence included finding stone harpoon points that hadn’t been used since the mid-1800s embedded in the blubber of whales recently killed by traditional whalers.

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Before the 1930s, an estimated 40,000 blue whales were killed by whalers in South Georgia waters.

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In this final section, a haunting combination of music and dance, Brooks calls up ghosts and ancestors from whalers and slave ships.

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A whaler's forgotten aerial photos from 1937 have given researchers at the University of Copenhagen the most detailed picture of the ice evolution in East Antarctica to date.

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Many were inadvertently introduced by whalers and sealers in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

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