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whelk

1 American  
[hwelk, welk] / ʰwɛlk, wɛlk /

noun

  1. any of several large, spiral-shelled, marine gastropods of the family Buccinidae, especially Buccinum undatum, that is used for food in Europe.

whelk 2 American  
[welk, hwelk] / wɛlk, ʰwɛlk /

noun

  1. a pimple or pustule.

whelk 1 British  
/ wɛlk /

noun

  1. any carnivorous marine gastropod mollusc of the family Buccinidae, of coastal waters and intertidal regions, having a strong snail-like shell

"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
whelk 2 British  
/ wɛlk /

noun

  1. a raised lesion on the skin; wheal

"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

Other Word Forms

  • whelky adjective

Etymology

Origin of whelk1

before 900; late Middle English, aspirated variant of Middle English welk, Old English weoloc

Origin of whelk2

before 1000; Middle English whelke, Old English hwylca, hwelca; akin to wheal

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.

It found the boat had been modified and had 4.6 tonnes of whelks and whelk pots on board.

From BBC • Jul. 14, 2023

The group has been building steel wire cages, filling them with rocks and whelk shells and positioning them in rows along the shoreline of Barnegat Bay.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 28, 2022

In the 1990s, the population of horseshoe crabs along the East Coast was decimated by fishermen who used them as bait to catch eel and corner the lucrative market for whelk or conch.

From Washington Post • Jul. 30, 2021

As a fierce wind sent his hair flying around his face, he pointed out some of the little things he loved: a clump of pink sea thrift, a tiny whelk.

From New York Times • Jul. 7, 2021

As for weights, the stall-holders would appear to have none but stones, whelk shells, and potsherds, which must be hard to regulate.

From Southern Arabia by Bent, Theodore

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.