DEFINITIONS
The
2019 WORD
OF THE YEAR is...

whelp

[ hwelp, welp ]
/ ʰwɛlp, wɛlp /

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).

Content related to whelp

12 Strange Names For Baby AnimalsLeverets, poliwogs, and spats: how well do you know your baby animal names?
READ MORE
12 Strange Names For Baby AnimalsLeverets, poliwogs, and spats: how well do you know your baby animal names?
READ MORE

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

Origin of whelp

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

SYNONYMS FOR whelp

2 brat, urchin, whippersnapper.

OTHER WORDS FROM whelp

whelp·less, adjectiveun·whelped, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for whelped

British Dictionary definitions for whelped

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