Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

whapper

[hwop-er, wop-]
noun
  1. whopper.
Show More

whopper

or whap·per

[hwop-er, wop-]
noun Informal.
  1. something uncommonly large of its kind.
  2. a big lie.
Show More

Origin of whopper

First recorded in 1775–85; whop + -er1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for whapper

Historical Examples

  • I know'd this was a whapper of a lie, as soon as I heard it.

    A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, of the State of Tennessee.

    Davy Crockett

  • And turning to Tengelyi, he added, "That boy Imri is a whapper, sir; but the other chap's a scurvy rat!"

British Dictionary definitions for whapper

whopper

noun informal
  1. anything uncommonly large of its kind
  2. a big lie
Show More

Word Origin

C18: from whop
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

Word Origin and History for whapper

whopper

n.

1785, formed as if from whop (v.) "to beat, overcome." Meaning "big lie" is recorded first in 1791. Whopping "large, big, impressive" is attested by 1620s.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper