whistleblower

noun

whis·​tle·​blow·​er ˈ(h)wi-səl-ˌblō-ər 

variants or whistle-blower

plural whistleblowers or whistle-blowers

: one who reveals something covert or who informs against another

especially : an employee who brings wrongdoing by an employer or by other employees to the attention of a government or law enforcement agency

Note: A whistleblower is commonly protected legally from retaliation.

I think whistleblowers play a hugely important role in countering the worst corporate and government excesses.

—Damon Poeter

… pledges to protect whistle-blowers who fear reprisals for their efforts.

—Wall Street Journal

Congress also added significant new protection for whistleblowers. The 1986 act provides remedies including reinstatement, back-pay with interest, and, as appropriate, punitive damages for whistleblowers who are discharged, demoted, or discriminated against due to involvement with a False Claims disclosure.

—Bradford A. Penney

whistleblowing

ˈ(h)wi-səl-ˌblō-iŋ 

adjective

or whistle-blowing

a whistleblowing report

Many states have already enacted laws that protect whistle-blowing employees from retaliation.

—Greg Critser

whistleblowing noun

or whistle-blowing

… a National Security Agency agent who got in trouble for whistle-blowing.

—Renée Camus

Examples of whistleblower in a Sentence

There are laws to protect whistleblowers who reveal corporate malfeasance.

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2014, Best Care reached a settlement agreement with the federal government, which resulted from a case brought by whistleblower claims. —Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 1 Jan. 2026

There’s a dentist, a first-year medical student, a recent medical school grad, a Theranos whistleblower, biotech and pharma executives, a medical archivist, a nutrition science researcher, a biomedical scientist, so many physicians, and other experts. —Torie Bosch, STAT, 31 Dec. 2025

One of the whistleblowers, a policy strategist named Joshua Haver, also alleged that the Idaho commissioners and utility executives had gathered privately weeks before the conference, in violation of Idaho’s open-records laws. —Nick Bowlin, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025

In his video, Shirley claims Minnesota lost a total of more than $100 million to fraud — a similar figure alleged by a whistleblower in 2018. —Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 29 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for whistleblower

• blower
• goer
• grower
• knower
• lower
• mower
• rower
• slower
• sower
• thrower

Legal Definition

whistleblower

noun

whis·​tle·​blow·​er

ˈhwi-səl-ˌblō-ər

: an employee who brings wrongdoing by an employer or other employees to the attention of a government or law enforcement agency and who is commonly vested by statute with rights and remedies for retaliation compare qui tam action

whistleblowing

-iŋ

noun