whelp

American  

[hwelp, welp] / ʰwɛlp, wɛlp /

noun

whelps plural

1. the young of a carnivore, as a dog, bear, lion, seal, etc.

2. a youth, especially an impudent or despised one.

   Synonyms:

   whippersnapper, urchin, brat

3. Machinery.

   1. any of a series of longitudinal projections or ridges on the barrel of a capstan, windlass, etc.

   2. any of the teeth of a sprocket wheel.

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verb (used with or without object)

whelps, present (3rd person singular) whelped, past participle, past whelping present participle

1. (of a female dog, lion, etc.) to give birth to (young).

whelp British  

/ wɛlp /

noun

1. a young offspring of certain animals, esp of a wolf or dog

2. derogatory a young man or youth

3. humorous a young child

4. nautical any of the ridges, parallel to the axis, on the drum of a capstan to keep a rope, cable, or chain from slipping

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verb

1. (of an animal or, disparagingly, a woman) to give birth to (young)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unwhelped
  adjective
• whelpless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• whelps
  plural

Participles

• whelping
  present
• whelped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• whelp
  simple
• whelps
  simple
• have whelped
  perfect
• has whelped
  perfect
• am whelping
  progressive
• are whelping
  progressive
• is whelping
  progressive
• have been whelping
  perfect progressive
• has been whelping
  perfect progressive

Past

• whelped
  simple
• had whelped
  perfect
• was whelping
  progressive
• were whelping
  progressive
• had been whelping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will whelp
  simple
• will have whelped
  perfect
• will be whelping
  progressive
• will have been whelping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of whelp

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun, from Old English hwelp (cognate with Old Norse hvelpr, Old Saxon hwelp, Old High German hwelf, welf, German Welf); verb derivative of the noun

Explanation

It doesn't sound as cute as "puppy," but whelp means the same thing: a baby dog or wolf. This can also be a verb, as in "The mama poodle whelped six whelps." To someone who studies animals, whelp is just the word for a newborn dog or for birthing. Besides applying to canines such as wolves and coyotes, whelp is sometimes used to describe a young person. This usually isn't a compliment. If an older person calls a young person a whelp or says, "I don't know what's wrong with you whelps these days!", you can be sure they're not impressed by youngsters.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

whelp whelps whelped whelping

And for this match at the Kennington Oval, a desperate England were blooding eight new internationals, including a 17-year-old whelp, James Prinsep.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 11, 2011

Some lousy whelp stole my snow shovel off my porch last week.

From Time Magazine Archive

At first, Medicine Ball Caravan looks like another whelp from the Woodstock litter.

From Time Magazine Archive

Pondering the tragedy, William Wordsworth labeled him "the marvellous boy," and Samuel Johnson burbled, "It is wonderful how the whelp has written such things."

From Time Magazine Archive

"I'm surprised she lived lohg enough to whelp," he said.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

Kruse now transfers his pregnant dogs to Lichirie, who whelps the puppies and raises them until they’re weaned.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2024

James Franco has taken Cormac McCarthy’s stylistic prose and replaced it with grunts, whelps and whinnies.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 31, 2014

He refers to them, as if they were abused whelps, as “members of our litter.”

From New York Times ● Jul. 30, 2013

You can't close them fast enough, and eventually the screen whelps itself into incoherence.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 15, 2011

"The Arbor would have declared for Renly with all the rest, except that Redwyne knew full well his whelps would suffer for it."

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

The puppies were whelped by Kruse’s business partner and former employee who sells the litters from Kruse’s breeding dogs under his own license, which had not been suspended.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2024

And from Susan’s line, the queen’s breeding program at the Kennels of Windsor whelped hundreds of corgi puppies.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 18, 2018

It was after Columbus, his first divorce, and a few wilderness years that he shifted back nearer to his father’s public shape, within his own variation on the entertainment world that whelped him.

From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2015

"I must once again repeat the concerns we have about the viability and deliverability of the Northumberland Development Project," he whelped.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 21, 2011

It happened that Jessie and Bluebell had both whelped soon after the hay harvest, giving birth between them to nine sturdy puppies.

From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell

Historically in winter, the gulf’s pack ice transforms into the southernmost whelping grounds for harp seals—an ice nursery for newborn pups.

From National Geographic ● Jan. 23, 2024

If you’re craving some cuteness overload, check out Warrior Canine Connection’s puppy whelping room cam.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 5, 2021

The whelping, or delivery, area is off-limits, but we could watch the mothers and their litters on a wall of video feeds.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 28, 2019

He said the puppies live in what’s called a whelping box right now, which is where they nurse and eat their gruel.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 11, 2016

She loves especially to hear about the dark coasts of South America with their impenetrable walls of trees and offshore breezes full of the stink of rotting kelp and the cries of whelping seals.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr