# whale

/ˈhweɪɫ/ (US) · /wˈeɪl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/whale
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. sea animal

noun · CEFR A2

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

For teachers: 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.

### 2. gambling/finance

noun · CEFR C1 · Informal · Slang

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

For teachers: 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.

### 3. something very large

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal

something that is very big or impressive.

For teachers: 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.

### 4. overweight person

noun · CEFR C2 · Informal · Vulgar · Dialect

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

For teachers: 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.

Teaching tip: This sense is highly offensive; learners should be aware of it to understand insults but should never use it themselves.

### 5. to hunt whales

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

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

For teachers: 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.

Usage: The verb is intransitive in this sense.

### 6. to hit hard

verb · CEFR C2 · Informal · American English

to hit or beat something very hard and many times.

For teachers: 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.

Usage: Often appears as the phrasal construction 'whale on' or 'whale away at'.

## Examples

- The blue whale is the largest animal on Earth.
- During our boat trip, we were lucky enough to see a whale breach the surface of the water.
- Marine biologists are currently studying how whale song facilitates communication across vast distances of the ocean floor, potentially linking pods separated by hundreds of miles.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.