whale 1 of 2

noun

ˈ(h)wāl How to pronounce whale (audio)
Definition of whalenext
as in dinosaur
something that is unusually large and powerful a whale of a pickup truck

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

whale

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to hit
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner whaled the ball so hard that it sailed over the fence and into the neighbor's yard

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to hide
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible whaled the rug with a broom to knock the dirt out of it

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to lick
to strike repeatedly mercilessly whaled the pickpocket for stealing from her purse

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of whale
Noun
Gordon took young Gavin and his sister, Hilary, on family vacations, including to watch whales in Canada and view elephants in Kenya. — Joe Hagan, Vanity Fair, 30 Sep. 2026 With the site getting sold for redevelopment, the whales had to go somewhere, lest they be euthanized. — Arkansas Online, 28 Sep. 2026 This makes whale watching a must, and Croisières Cap Gaspé offers intimate whale watching tours capped at just 12 passengers. — Maryam Siddiqi, Travel + Leisure, 28 Sep. 2026 Bringing them to the aquarium to keep them alive likely causes great trauma to the whales after many years of being left alone. — Chicago Tribune, 26 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for whale
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whale
  1. dinosaur
  2. hit
  3. hide
  4. lick
  5. giant
  6. punch
  7. whip
  8. pound
Noun
  • Founded in 1812, and opened to the public in 1828, the Academy of Natural Sciences was the first place in the world to display a dinosaur skeleton, back in 1868.
    — Andrew Stelzer, NPR, 3 Oct. 2026
  • One of the more notable objects is a full Psittacosaurus skeleton, a small, plant-eating dinosaur with a distinctive beak.
    — Leigh Anne Miller, ARTnews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of dinosaur
Verb
  • Heather is absolutely tickled and lets out a cackle, because that little bit surely hits even harder if the FBI has actually busted up one of your cast trips before.
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
  • In other white-collar fields, like legal services or copywriting, AI is hitting labor markets that were roughly in balance.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of hit
Verb
  • The teens then ran from law enforcement before being found hiding in a nearby backyard, with one of the suspects being taken into custody with the assistance of a police dog.
    — Camryn Dadey, Sacbee.com, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Now that raw capability is no longer scarce, the excuse for hiding behind these proxies has quietly disappeared.
    — Vikas Verma, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of hide
Verb
  • The Sox move on to Cleveland while the Cubs come home to lick their wounds.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The Bombers beat the Red Sox 9-2 in Game 2 after winning the series opening game 9-0, sending New England’s hardball heroes home to lick their wounds until next spring.
    — Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of lick
Noun
  • Andersen predicts security concerns will ultimately keep China’s turbine giants from conquering the continent.
    — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The tech giant vowed to publish its energy and water use annually, and spend more than $1 billion over five years on free community college, trades training, and home energy-efficiency upgrades in data center counties.
    — Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of giant
Verb
  • The fight was so violent that each one of them punched, scratched, bit and slapped the other, Linhardt said.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper university in São Paulo, said candidates like Tiririca punch above their weight because of Brazil’s proportional representation system.
    — Mauricio Savarese, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of punch
Verb
  • In whipping rain and wind in New Jersey, the New York Giants held on for a 12-7 win in their first game since quarterback Jaxson Dart suffered a season-ending knee injury.
    — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Castro whips her head around and follows him, punching him in the back.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of whip
Verb
  • Guadagnino has always been skilled in his choice of music (Sufjan Stevens’ alt-pop in Call Me by Your Name, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ pounding EDM in Challengers).
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Still The Hairy Ape is, in one sense, a long, furious solo — a man pounding his head against a piano while accompanied by the orchestra — and Beavers ably carries its weight through to the finale.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of pound

Browse Nearby Words

whacks
whale
whaleboat
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Cite this Entry

“Whale.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whale. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on whale

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about whale

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