whistleblower
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
- whistle-blowing noun
- whistleblowing noun
Etymology
Origin of whistleblower
First recorded in 1965–70; whistle ( def. ) + blower ( def. )
Explanation
A whistleblower is someone who reveals illegal activity that's been going on at their workplace. By making their allegations, most whistleblowers put their jobs in jeopardy. Whistleblowers have exposed all kinds of wrongdoing at both private companies and government agencies, from fraud and illegal hiring practices to corruption and public health dangers. Many historians consider Benjamin Franklin to be the first U.S. whistleblower, for leaking letters between British officials, an action that was seen as a step toward revolution. The term wasn't applied to the act of revealing secret information until the 1970s, when activist Ralph Nader used it lieu of negative words like "snitch."
Vocabulary lists containing whistleblower
Simply Scandalous!
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U.S. Government - Middle School and High School
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U.S. Government - Middle School and High School
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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.
Blumenthal asserted that, according to a whistleblower, ICE agents have been instructed to break into homes and Mullin pushed back, accusing Blumenthal of using the term break in "loosely".
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
The lawsuit, citing whistleblower complaints, alleges video captured on Meta’s devices are being routed to contractors in Africa to manually view and label the data to train Meta’s AI models.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 14, 2026
Nick Vaquero, the whistleblower who first spoke to LAist, confirmed to The Times several details about his complaint, which he submitted to county officials in October.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2026
"There is another, more compelling, alternative to the claimant's overall theme of her being treated badly as a whistleblower," Judge Smith said.
From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026
The Post said the whistleblower issued the complaint anonymously because they feared retaliation.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 10, 2026
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.
