whaler

noun

whal·​er ˈ(h)wā-lər 

1

: a person or ship engaged in whale fishing

2

: whaleboat sense 2

Examples of whaler in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Step aboard the Grampus, a whaleship gone adrift after a storm, rations running out and a violent mutiny, and learn what happened to its ghost whalers. — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 16 Sep. 2026

Then from 1830 to 1850, rapacious British whalers hunted them nearly to extinction here in Recherche, where the pregnant mothers would come to give birth. — Adam Erace, Travel + Leisure, 4 Aug. 2026

Shackleton purchased a wooden Norwegian whaler, Foca I, which his wife Emily renamed Quest. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 10 July 2026

While en route to ship out on a Nantucket whaler, Ishmael spends a night at New Bedford’s Spouter-Inn, a night which quickly takes on the semblance of stage farce. — Literary Hub, 6 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1684, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for whaler

• bailer
• bailor
• baler
• jailer
• jailor
• paler
• sailer
• sailor
• scalar
• scaler
• tailor
• trailer

Kids Definition

whaler

noun

whal·​er ˈhwā-lər 

ˈwā-

: a person or ship that hunts for whales