whaling
Americannoun
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the work or industry of capturing and rendering whales; whale fishing.
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Digital Technology. a phishing attempt by someone posing as a company’s attorney, CEO, vendor, or other authorized entity in order to scam a payroll department, corporate executive, etc., out of money or confidential information.
The source of the whaling gave all appearances of legitimacy and trustworthiness.
noun
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of whaling
whale 1 + -ing 1; whaling def. 1 was first recorded in 1680–90; whaling def. 2 in 2010–15 (in the sense “hunting for a big fish/phish”)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This includes for the animals living in these "chemosynthetic" communities, whose numbers had been thought to have been drastically reduced by human whaling, she added.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
The Mentor had set sail from New Bedford, Mass., the whaling capital of the United States, in July 1831, with a complement of 21 men led by Capt. Edward Barnard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
Reports of sperm whales using their heads to strike objects date back to open-boat whaling in the 19th century.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 23, 2026
Generations of whaling all but eliminated the western population — leaving only about 150 alive today off of East Asia and Russia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2026
The guide started talking about whaling as everyone poured off the bus to gaze at the lighthouse.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
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