Whale

Quick meaning: Whale is a noun meaning Any large cetacean that usually excludes dolphins and porpoises.

Meaning

Any large cetacean that usually excludes dolphins and porpoises.

More Meanings

1. (loosely) Any species of Cetacea.
2. (figuratively) Something, or someone, that is very large.
3. (figuratively, as "whale of a ___") Something, or someone, that is excellent.
4. (gambling, figuratively) A gambler who routinely wagers large amounts of money.
5. (finance, figuratively, informal) An investor who deals with very large amounts of money.
6. (marketing, figuratively) A person who spends large amounts of money on things that are marketed to them.
7. (figuratively, colloquial, derogatory) An overweight person (usually a woman)

Example Sentences

Near-synonym: baleen (obsolete sense)

It was a whale of a job. […] It took two months, and the fair blush of youth off my cheeks.

My own father only wrote one poem in his life as far as I know, but it was a whale of a lyric, the kind you would give your whole life to write, which he did, but that is another story.

But when it comes to his business life and business career, Will Clayton is not as other men; he is such a whale of a lot better that it suggests a qualitative as well as a quantitative difference.

Word Forms

• whales
• whaling
• whaled

Synonyms for whale

Depending on context, synonyms include baleen, cetacean, hulk, heavyweight, giant.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include heavyweight, hulk, giant, cetacean, orc, orca.

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