DictionaryAI

whale

WAYL/weɪl/

Pluralwhales

Verbwhales, whaling, whaled

7 meanings of whale

Practice

  1. 1
    nouncountable
    A marine mammal of the group Cetacea, especially one of the large species, though the term can also include dolphins and porpoises.

    A blue whale is the largest animal ever known to have lived.

    Whales surface regularly to breathe air through their blowholes.

    Note

    The King James Bible of 1611 has God creating "great whales" on the fifth day of the world.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. en.wikipedia.org
    • Genesis in the King James Bible describes God creating “great whales” on the fifth day. en.wikisource.org
  2. 2
    hunt at seaverbintransitive
    To go out hunting for whales.

    Crews would set out to whale in Arctic waters for months at a time.

    Their families had whaled off these shores for generations.

  3. 3
    nounfigurativelycountable
    Something or someone regarded as remarkably large, impressive, or excellent, especially in the phrase 'a whale of a …'.

    The moving crew struggled to carry a whale of a sofa up the narrow stairs.

    Her report grew into a whale of a document, running to hundreds of pages.

    UsageMostly in a whale of a + noun: a whale of a sofa. Have a whale of a time means enjoy yourself greatly.

    Similarmonster, giant, behemoth, colossus

    Note

    John Chamberlain, writing in Life in 1947, found Will Clayton "a whale of a lot better" than other men.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • John Chamberlain used “a whale of a lot better” about Will Clayton in Life in 1947. Wiktionary identifies the article as “Will Clayton and his Problem,” published on May 19, 1947, page 120. en.wiktionary.org
  4. 4
    big investornouncolloquialfigurativelycountable
    An investor who trades or controls very large sums of money.

    A crypto whale shifted millions into the token overnight, sending its price soaring.

    Small traders watch the whales for clues about where the market is heading.

    UsageA word before whale can identify the market or asset: a crypto whale, a bitcoin whale.

    Note

    Finance has its own whale, kin to the high-stakes gambler: an investor big enough that its positions matter to everyone else. Alexis Goldstein's 2021 headline "These Invisible Whales Could Sink the Economy" concerned Archegos, whose borrowed positions the banks could not detect in full.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Less common meanings

  1. 5
    nounfigurativelycountable
    A person who gambles or spends unusually large sums of money, such as a high-stakes casino gambler or a very big-spending customer.

    The casino flew the whale in by private jet and comped his entire stay.

    A single whale can account for much of a casino's profit in one weekend.

    UsageClose to high roller, but whale is the word used inside the gambling world.

    Note

    Casino talk that sizes a gambler by stake. Whales favor no-limit games, because table maximums cramp their style, and the richest bet $200,000 a hand. Deke Castleman's Whale Hunt in the Desert crowned Kerry Packer the "Prince of Whales."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Whales favor games without betting limits because maximum bets constrain them. en.wiktionary.org
    • Some of the richest whales bet $200,000 per hand. en.wiktionary.org
    • Deke Castleman's Whale Hunt in the Desert calls Kerry Packer the Prince of Whales. en.wiktionary.org
  2. 6
    fat person (rude)nounderogatorycolloquialfigurativelycountable
    A derogatory term for an overweight person, usually a woman.

    He muttered something about the whale slumped in the corner booth.

    She overheard them call her a whale and left the party in tears.

    Note

    An insult aimed at someone's body, and a hurtful one: it is never a neutral way to say large. It is usually directed at women, but it reaches men too. Paul T. Rogers's Saul's Book (1983) applies it to a snoring man with hair all over his chest.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

  3. 7
    beat hardverbslangtransitive
    To beat or thrash someone or something hard and repeatedly.

    Out in the yard, he whaled away at the dusty rug with an old broom.

    The birthday girl grabbed the stick, ready to whale on the piñata until candy spilled out.

    UsageUsually whale on or whale away at something: whale on the piñata.

    Similarthrash, beat, wallop, pound, lash

    Note

    A different word that happens to share the spelling. Its origin is uncertain, perhaps wale bent toward whack and whap, and it is probably unrelated to the animal. Thomas Chandler Haliburton has it in 1852, and Steve Frazee's western Voices in the Hill (2002) still writes "kept whaling him."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • The beating verb is treated as a separate word with the same spelling. en.wiktionary.org
    • Its origin is uncertain, possibly a variant of wale influenced by whack and whap. en.wiktionary.org
    • The beating verb occurs in a work associated with Thomas Chandler Haliburton in 1852. gutenberg.org
    • Steve Frazee wrote Voices in the Hill. en.wiktionary.org
    • Voices in the Hill contains the exact words kept whaling him. en.wiktionary.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of whale apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–6

From Middle English whal, from Old English hwæl ("whale"), going back through Proto-Germanic *hwalaz (compare German Wal and Swedish val) to Proto-Indo-European *(s)kʷálos ("sheatfish"), possibly also seen in Latin squalus ("big sea fish").

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

Meaning 7

No one is sure where it comes from. It may be a form of wale shaped by words such as whack and whap.