whalebone

noun

whale·​bone ˈ(h)wāl-ˌbōn How to pronounce whalebone (audio)
1
: baleen
2
: an article made of whalebone

Examples of whalebone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Their ancestors had carved a civilization out of the ice with tools made from whalebone and meteorite fragments. Ken Harbaugh, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2026 By 1974, though, many women had already discarded those notions as instruments of domination, psychic equivalents of the whalebone corset. James Marcus, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025 Excavations also uncovered an iron sickle, stone tool, bronze pendant, a pair of beads possibly made of amber and a whalebone tool, the museum said. Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 4 June 2025 The goal was to snag as many whales as possible, in pursuit of their highly valuable whale oil (extracted from blubber), sperm oil, and whalebone. Byallie Garfinkle, Fortune, 8 July 2024 See All Example Sentences for whalebone

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of whalebone was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Whalebone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whalebone. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.

Kids Definition

whalebone

noun
whale·​bone -ˌbōn How to pronounce whalebone (audio)
: baleen

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