Illustration of white whale
- white whale 1
white whale
noun
1
2
or less commonly great white whale
: something (such as a goal or object) that is obsessively pursued
It was the old man's white whale, the holy grail shining at the end of the dream, on and off the rails, as he chased scripts, directors, and movie stars of the proper magnitude.—
Rich Cohen
Rich CohenFor drug makers, developing the first Alzheimer's therapy has long been seen as the great white whale: the toughest challenge and biggest opportunity.—Robert Weisman
Robert Weisman
Examples of white whale in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Housing is the perennial white whale, given how many buyers are bereft at the dearth of affordable options.
—Jane Thier, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2024
His white whale is a patent model of one of the earliest proto-typewriters, last seen in the nineteen-forties.
—Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2024
Their main goal will be updating their workflows to increase worker productivity—the perennial white whale amid new hybrid work plans.
—Jane Thier, Fortune, 18 Mar. 2024
The academy has been chasing this white whale for a while.
—Travis Andrews, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024
Since business leaders became serious about getting employees back to offices post-pandemic, the idea of cultivating a work culture that boosts productivity, and the bottom line has been many bosses’ white whale.
—Trey Williams, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2024
Another white whale of sorts—the identity of the man on the cover of Led Zeppelin IV—also surfaced in 2023.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
Democrats haven't won North Carolina in a presidential race since 2008.
0:20
Susan Walsh/AP, FILE
Democrats are trying again to reel in their white whale of North Carolina this November after years of losses culminated in Republicans clinching a historically strong position to end 2023.
—Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 7 Jan. 2024
Some other whale had gnawed off Ahab’s leg; the white whale was as innocent as the driven snow.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
Jane Thier, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2024
His white whale is a patent model of one of the earliest proto-typewriters, last seen in the nineteen-forties.
—Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2024
Their main goal will be updating their workflows to increase worker productivity—the perennial white whale amid new hybrid work plans.
—Jane Thier, Fortune, 18 Mar. 2024
The academy has been chasing this white whale for a while.
—Travis Andrews, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024
Since business leaders became serious about getting employees back to offices post-pandemic, the idea of cultivating a work culture that boosts productivity, and the bottom line has been many bosses’ white whale.
—Trey Williams, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2024
Another white whale of sorts—the identity of the man on the cover of Led Zeppelin IV—also surfaced in 2023.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
Democrats haven't won North Carolina in a presidential race since 2008.
0:20
Susan Walsh/AP, FILE
Democrats are trying again to reel in their white whale of North Carolina this November after years of losses culminated in Republicans clinching a historically strong position to end 2023.
—Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 7 Jan. 2024
Some other whale had gnawed off Ahab’s leg; the white whale was as innocent as the driven snow.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'white whale.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near white whale
Cite this Entry
“White whale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%20whale. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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