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whaler

[hwey-ler, wey-]
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noun
  1. a person or vessel employed in whaling.
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Origin of whaler

First recorded in 1675–85; whale1 + -er1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for whaler

Historical Examples

  • There was also an Englishman who worked his passage, having been the cooper of a whaler that was wrecked.

    Ned Myers

    James Fenimore Cooper

  • Well, if the Forward were only a whaler, I believe we should have some sport.

  • The next day (September 10) they are picked up by the Danish whaler.

  • They had to await the uncertain passage of a whaler, and how many days yet?

  • He was wrecked on the Peruvian coast and became a beachcomber, and then got a berth in a whaler.

    The Frozen Pirate

    W. Clark Russell

British Dictionary definitions for whaler

whaler

noun
  1. Also called (US): whaleman a person employed in whaling
  2. a vessel engaged in whalingSee factory ship, whale catcher
  3. another word for whaleboat
  4. Australian a nomad surviving in the bush without working
  5. Australian short for whaler shark
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012