whale

n. a very large animal that lives in the sea and breathes air through a hole on its head.

n. any of the larger cetacean mammals, typically excluding dolphins and porpoises.

“We went on a boat trip to see a blue whale in the wild.”

“Marine biologists tracked the migratory patterns of the humpback whale to better understand how rising ocean temperatures affect their feeding grounds.”

n. a person who bets or spends a huge amount of money.

n. a gambler or investor who routinely wagers or trades exceptionally large sums of money.

“The casino offered the whale a free luxury suite to keep him playing.”

“Market analysts observed a significant price shift after a crypto whale moved thousands of tokens into a private wallet.”

Informal · Slang

n. something that is very big or impressive.

n. an object or person of extraordinary size or importance.

“That new cargo ship is a real whale of a vessel.”

“The project turned into a whale of a task that required the entire department to work overtime for a month.”

Informal

n. a very unkind way to describe a person who is large or fat.

n. a derogatory and offensive term for an overweight person.

“He was being a bully and called the girl a whale.”

“The protagonist faced constant verbal abuse, often being referred to as a whale by her peers in the cruelest of terms.”

Informal · Vulgar · Dialect

v. to go out on a ship to hunt and catch whales.

v. to engage in the activity of hunting whales.

“The village used to whale for food, but now they protect the animals.”

“Historically, many coastal communities would whale during the summer months to secure oil and meat for the winter season.”

Technical

v. to hit or beat something very hard and many times.

v. to thrash or beat soundly; often used with 'on' or 'away at'.

“The drummer started to whale on his drums during the solo.”

“The boxer began to whale away at his opponent once he saw a gap in the man's defense.”

Informal · American English