Whales

[ hweylz, weylz ]
/ ʰweɪlz, weɪlz /

noun

Bay of, an inlet of the Ross Sea, in Antarctica: location of Little America.

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decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
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Definition for whales (2 of 3)

whale1
[ hweyl, weyl ]
/ ʰweɪl, weɪl /

noun, plural whales, (especially collectively) whale.

any of the larger marine mammals of the order Cetacea, especially as distinguished from the smaller dolphins and porpoises, having a fishlike body, forelimbs modified into flippers, and a head that is horizontally flattened.
Informal. something big, great, or fine of its kind: I had a whale of a time in Europe.
(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Cetus.

verb (used without object), whaled, whal·ing.

to engage in whaling or whale fishing.

Origin of whale

1
before 900; Middle English; Old English hwæl; cognate with German Wal- in Walfisch, Old Norse hvalr; perhaps akin to Latin squalus kind of fish

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH whale

wail whale

Definition for whales (3 of 3)

whale2
[ hweyl, weyl ]
/ ʰweɪl, weɪl /

verb, whaled, whal·ing,

to hit, thrash, or beat soundly.

Origin of whale

2
First recorded in 1780–90; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to whales

mammal, porpoise, whopper, cetacean, grampus, baleen, finback, beluga, rorqual, narwhal, orca, ceta, cete, orc, sei

Example sentences from the Web for whales

British Dictionary definitions for whales (1 of 2)

whale1
/ (weɪl) /

noun plural whales or whale

any of the larger cetacean mammals, excluding dolphins, porpoises, and narwhals. They have flippers, a streamlined body, and a horizontally flattened tail and breathe through a blowhole on the top of the headRelated adjective: cetacean
any cetacean mammalSee also toothed whale, whalebone whale
slang a gambler who has the capacity to win and lose large sums of money in a casino
a whale of a informal an exceptionally large, fine, etc, example of a (person or thing)we had a whale of a time on holiday

Word Origin for whale

Old English hwæl; related to Old Saxon, Old High German hwal, Old Norse hvalr, Latin squalus seapig

British Dictionary definitions for whales (2 of 2)

whale2
/ (weɪl) /

verb

(tr) to beat or thrash soundly

Word Origin for whale

C18: variant of wale 1
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