whale

¹ American  

[wayl, hwayl] / weɪl, ʰweɪl /

noun

• whales,
  plural
• whale
  plural

1. 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.

2. Informal. something big, great, or fine of its kind.

   I had a whale of a time in Europe.

   Programming this game turned out to be a whale of a project.

3. Also called crypto whale. an investor who holds a large amount of cryptocurrency and is therefore able to create noticeable effects on the market, as by influencing prices through large transactions or by reducing the amount of available cryptocurrency through failure to move their holdings.

   The recent accumulation of this cryptocurrency by whales may indicate that they expect it to see significant gains in the near future.

4. Astronomy. Whale, the constellation Cetus.

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verb (used without object)

whaled, whaling

1. to engage in whaling or whale fishing.

2. Digital Technology. to phish by 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.

   When she demonstrated her project, “How to Whale and Make Millions,” they didn’t know whether to award her or arrest her!

verb (used with object)

whaled, whaling

1. Digital Technology. to make (a company’s employee or department) a phishing victim by posing as an entity authorized to procure money or confidential information from the company.

   Before proving he had been whaled, the marketing VP was subjected to much scrutiny and suspicion.

whale ² American  

[hwayl, wayl] / ʰweɪl, weɪl /

verb

whaled, whaling

1. to hit, thrash, or beat soundly.

   Back then, if we misbehaved, Dad would threaten to whale us.

   We took advantage of the other team where they were weakest and whaled the stuffing out of them.

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verb phrase

1. whale (away) at / on

   1. to work vigorously and continuously at or on.

      It was cool to see this bunch of talented writers whaling away on their screenplay.

      I remember whaling at code over and over, pretty much at random, until I found something that sort of worked.

   2. to strike with furious and repeated blows.

      Satisfying as it was to whale on the punching bag, it did little to restore my emotional balance.

      In the last round, he pinned his opponent in the corner and was whaling away at him with both hands.

   3. to criticize vehemently.

      When hostile people are whaling on your ideas, it’s easy to feel humiliated and angry.

      Now all the political pundits are whaling away at the president for neglecting the military.

   4. to play (an instrument) with abandon.

      There was a jazz musician in the corner of the bar, whaling away at the piano.

      He and his band whaled on their instruments with their whole bodies—it was amazing!

whale ¹ British  

/ weɪl /

noun

1. 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 head

2. any cetacean mammal See also toothed whale whalebone whale

3. slang a gambler who has the capacity to win and lose large sums of money in a casino

4. informal an exceptionally large, fine, etc, example of a (person or thing)

   we had a whale of a time on holiday

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whale ² British  

/ weɪl /

verb

1. (tr) to beat or thrash soundly

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• whale
  plural
• whales
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of whale¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English hwæl; cognate with German Wal- in Walfisch, Old Norse hvalr; akin to Latin squalus, a kind of fish; 2005–10 whale ¹ for defs. 6, 7 (from the consideration of the victim as a “big fish/phish”)

Origin of whale²

First recorded in 1780–90; origin uncertain

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Explanation

A whale is a large mammal that lives in the ocean. Whales need to breathe air periodically, and the blowholes on their heads help them do this. Blue whales are the largest animals that ever lived — they're even bigger than the largest dinosaurs were! The Old English root of whale means both "whale" and "walrus," although these two marine animals are quite different from each other. While some whales grow to be only ten feet long, many whales are enormous. The informal phrase "a whale of a" comes from the idea that whales are impressive, and you can use it for things (or people) that really distinguish themselves: "Wow, this is a whale of a party!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

whale whales whaled whaling

Learn about whale biology: If you’ve seen or heard of the movie Whalefall, in which a scuba diver is swallowed by a whale, you have probably wondered whether the premise is at all plausible.

From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2026

Tofino was the last captive whale in Canada.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Occasionally, the blunt-headed whale seems to resemble Brolin himself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

A whale shark investigates the catch of a mobile net-fishing platform, known as a bagan.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

At this, the whale released a series of snorts and grunts, and Roz realized he was laughing.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

Due to the small size of its prey, fin whales have to eat a lot to survive and can spend several hours each day feeding, consuming up to 2,000 kilograms of food.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Enjoy your night, and watch out for hungry whales!

From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2026

That spurred an international rescue operation by several aquariums, leading to the largest ever transfer of captive whales this summer.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

But for now, the ban won't mean the end of captivity for the Marineland whales, only a change of habitat.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

He waited until the line jerked and twitched in his hand, and then he hauled up the line: two monstrous whales hung from it, the hugest whales that Thor had ever seen.

From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman

Numbers of these 16-foot-long marine mammals, hunted for their oil, meat, and baleen, had fallen to an estimated low of 1,200 animals in the North Pacific—a heavily whaled region—by the 1960s.

From National Geographic ● Sep. 28, 2023

Today’s blue whales find themselves in a whaled and warming ocean.

From Scientific American ● Jul. 31, 2020

Facing Erin's 7,800-plus yards but massively wide fairways—60 yards in some cases—players whaled away with impunity when typical winds failed to blow.

From Golf Digest ● Jun. 4, 2018

At one, Chadwick Boseman whaled on the drums and Lupita N’yongo was hailed as the best dancer.

From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2018

It seems pretty hard, after a fellow has had his life almost whaled out of him, to say he is sorry.

From Deerfoot in The Mountains by John Steeple Davis

“There is a course on international whaling law but none on women’s rights internationally,” she told the black-tie gathering.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 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

The Browns had a hand in everything from ironmaking and rum distilling to whaling and the slave trade.

From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026

Compared to the sleek, minimalist driving environment of a Tesla Model Y, the Crosstrek’s looks like the helm of a whaling ship.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

Back at the whaling station, Shackleton was busy organizing a ship to set out for Elephant Island.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

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Related Words

• mammal
• porpoise

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