whale

¹whale

noun, often attributive \ˈhwāl, ˈwāl\

plural whales

Definition of WHALE

1

or plural whale : cetacean; especially : one (as a sperm whale or killer whale) of larger size

2

: one that is impressive especially in size <a whale of a difference> <a whale of a good time>

— whale·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

Examples of WHALE

1. <a whale of a pickup truck>

Origin of WHALE

Middle English, from Old English hwæl; akin to Old High German hwal whale and perhaps to Latin squalus sea fish

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to WHALE

Synonyms: behemoth, blockbuster, colossus, dinosaur, dreadnought, elephant, Goliath, jumbo, leviathan, mammoth, mastodon, monster, titan, giant, whopper

Antonyms: diminutive, dwarf, half-pint, midget, mite, peewee, pygmy (also pigmy), runt, shrimp

Related Words: amazon, giantess; bulk, hulk; heavyweight; juggernaut, steamroller

Near Antonyms: lightweight, weakling, wimp, wisp; nonentity, twerp, whippersnapper

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Other Mammals Terms

dormouse, dugong, gibbon, grimalkin, sable, stoat, ungulate, vole

Rhymes with WHALE

ail, ale, bail, bale, Bâle, brail, braille, Braille, dale, fail, flail, frail, Gael, gale, Gale, grail, hail, hale, jail, kale, mail, male, nail, pail, pale, quail, Quayle, rail, sail, sale, scale, shale, snail, stale, swale, tael, tail, taille, tale, trail, vail, vale, veil, wail, wale, Yale