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whelp

[ hwelp, welp ]
/ ʰwɛlp, wɛlp /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR whelp ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the young of the dog, or of the wolf, bear, lion, tiger, seal, etc.
a youth, especially an impudent or despised one.
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.

verb (used with or without object)

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

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Origin of whelp

before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English hwelp (cognate with German Welf); (v.) Middle English whelpen, derivative of the noun

OTHER WORDS FROM whelp

whelp·less, adjectiveun·whelped, adjective

Words nearby whelp

wheeze, wheezy, whelk, whelked, whelm, whelp, whelping ice, when, when all's said and done, when in rome do as the romans do, when in rome, do as the romans do
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to whelp

puppy, cub, dog, pup

Example sentences from the Web for whelp

British Dictionary definitions for whelp

whelp
/ (wɛlp) /

noun

a young offspring of certain animals, esp of a wolf or dog
derogatory a young man or youth
jocular a young child
nautical any of the ridges, parallel to the axis, on the drum of a capstan to keep a rope, cable, or chain from slipping

verb

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

Word Origin for whelp

Old English hwelp (a); related to Old High German hwelf, Old Norse hvelpr, Danish hvalp
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