Whitaker

American  

[hwit-uh-ker, wit-] / ˈʰwɪt ə kər, ˈwɪt- /

noun

1. a male given name.

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Whitaker British  

/ ˈwɪtəkə /

noun

1. Sir Frederick. 1812–91, New Zealand statesman, born in England: prime minister of New Zealand (1863–64; 1882–83)

2. Forrest (Steven) , born 1961, US actor and film director; his films include (as actor) Ghost Dog (1999) and The Last King of Scotland (2006); (as director) Waiting to Exhale (1995)

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Example Sentences

"I stand here because of the people who came before me - Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, Will Smith," he said.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

At age 39, Jordan joins a small circle of Black actors who have won the prestigious best actor Oscar, after Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker and Will Smith.

From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026

Doctors like Mel King, whose neurodivergence manifests as open, radical caring and diagnostic precision, or Whitaker, who was revealed to be unhoused himself at the end of his first season baptism by disaster.

From Salon • Jan. 8, 2026

“We are not circumventing the statute,” Justice Department lawyer Henry Whitaker said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 1, 2025

Aside from her self-serving desire to travel, Regina insisted on being part of the tour because she didn’t trust one of its participants: the shifty-eyed Norman T. Whitaker.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady