whelk
1any of several large, spiral-shelled, marine gastropods of the family Buccinidae, especially Buccinum undatum, that is used for food in Europe.
Origin of whelk
1Words Nearby whelk
Other definitions for whelk (2 of 2)
a pimple or pustule.
Origin of whelk
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use whelk in a sentence
As he grows he needs a larger house, and so leaves the tight shell and pops his tail into a bigger one, generally a whelk shell.
On the Seashore | R. Cadwallader SmithSome of them would swallow the whelk shell, crab and all, but they would not eat one on which an Anemone was fixed.
On the Seashore | R. Cadwallader SmithThe whelk, however, is a clever burglar; he knows how to make a way into the hardest of shelly houses.
On the Seashore | R. Cadwallader SmithNow we will look at a shell-builder, the whelk, who uses his flinty tongue in quite another fashion.
On the Seashore | R. Cadwallader SmithThe whelk and his cousins know how to bore a hole in the shell, and suck out the helpless Oyster.
On the Seashore | R. Cadwallader Smith
British Dictionary definitions for whelk (1 of 2)
/ (wɛlk) /
any carnivorous marine gastropod mollusc of the family Buccinidae, of coastal waters and intertidal regions, having a strong snail-like shell
Origin of whelk
1British Dictionary definitions for whelk (2 of 2)
/ (wɛlk) /
a raised lesion on the skin; wheal
Origin of whelk
2Derived forms of whelk
- whelky, adjective
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
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