whale1
nounPlural whales weɪl(h)weɪl
A very large marine mammal with a streamlined hairless body, a horizontal tail fin, and a blowhole on top of the head for breathing.
Order Cetacea. See baleen whale and toothed whale
- As many as four generations of whales live together in some of these matrilineal groups.
- Scientists believe that now fewer than a hundred of the whales ply the waters near Alaska.
- By the Miocene, whales of both lineages are relatively common fossils in many marine deposits.
- Sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, porpoise and whales are common around the islands.
- They follow the breaking edge of the summer ice to hunt for seals, and are even known to attack beluga whales in the water.
- Fur seals, elephant seals, and the great whales were all hunted to the brink of extinction.
- However, paleontology as a whole encompasses all life, from bacteria to whales.
- Native peoples are still allowed to hunt these whales for food.
- We saw minke whales, hump backed whales, bald eagles, puffins and moose.
- We were told that whale sharks, whales and dolphins are abundant during the summer, between November and April.
- How many harbours play host to everything from seahorses and frogfish to whales and dolphins?
- These whales have been hunted to near extinction, and only about 2,500 exist today.
- Acoustical energy generated by the bodies of whales or large schools of fish can be lower still.
- Up until quite recently we had no idea of the numbers and variety of the whales, dolphins and porpoises round our coast.
- It is our hope and prayer that the humpback and other whales will be protected in the West Indies and other parts of the world.
- Orkney folk are being urged to keep a look out for whales, dolphins and porpoises this weekend.
- Come face to face with polar bears, walruses, harbour seals and beluga whales.
- Laboratory examinations of the heads of the whales showed trauma induced by sound.
- Dugongs are one of those sea creatures like porpoises and whales which should be completely protected by law.
- Marine mammals include narwhals, beluga whales, walrus, and ringed and bearded seals.
cetacean, leviathan
Phrases
a whale of a —
informal An extremely good example of a particular thing.
you've been doing a whale of a jobhave a whale of a time
Enjoy oneself very much.
he enjoyed the party, danced, drank, and generally had a whale of a time- Principal of St. Joseph's, Vincent Kelly, is delighted with the dedication and willingness of the children, saying ‘they've done very well and they are having a whale of a time.’
- He was having a whale of a time, laughing with his mates, and buying drinks for all of them.
- Members of a local activity group had a whale of a time when they enjoyed their first scuba diving experience.
- After a lesson in the basics from a qualified instructor, he was soon having a whale of a time.
- ‘At an age when teenyboppers barely know how to party, here are two youngsters who are ensuring party-goers have a whale of a time,’ sighed one of the revellers, taking a break from the jig on the dance floor.
- They joined Ger's brothers in Sydney and had a whale of a time.
- By the end of the session she had all the teachers, old and young, jumping and yelling, twirling and growling in unison, having a whale of a time.
- It offers a social scene all of its own, complete with marquee on the Tarbert quayside: racers and spectators alike are guaranteed to have a whale of a time.
- The children from Thorn Park School, a special school for deaf pupils, had a whale of a time - although wet weather confined them to the school hall.
- Prize or no prize they seemed to have a whale of a time.
Origin
Old English hwæl, of Germanic origin.
Rhymes
ail, ale, assail, avail, bail, bale, bewail, brail, Braille, chain mail, countervail, curtail, dale, downscale, drail, dwale, entail, exhale, fail, faille, flail, frail, Gael, Gail, gale, Grail, grisaille, hail, hale, impale, jail, kale, mail, male, webmail, nonpareil, outsail, pail, pale, quail, rail, sail, sale, sangrail, scale, shale, snail, stale, swale, tail, tale, they'll, trail, upscale, vail, vale, veil, surveil, wail, wale, Yale
whale2
verbwhales weɪl(h)weɪl
[with object]North American informal Beat; hit.
Dad came upstairs and whaled meno object they whaled at the water with their paddles- With that being said, I whaled the hilt off of her skull, and she fell practically lifeless.
- They whaled on Chapman before he could rise from his top bunk, shared with some 60 others in close barracks.
- He really whaled her, screaming and yelling and carrying on like a demented guy.
- I wondered why I should get whaled so, while Nerida, who was older, got off with a You-mustn't-do-that, darling.
Origin
Late 18th century: variant of wale.
whale1
noun(h)wāl(h)weɪl
A very large marine mammal with a streamlined hairless body, a horizontal tail fin, and a blowhole on top of the head for breathing.
Order Cetacea. See baleen whale and toothed whale
- How many harbours play host to everything from seahorses and frogfish to whales and dolphins?
- Up until quite recently we had no idea of the numbers and variety of the whales, dolphins and porpoises round our coast.
- By the Miocene, whales of both lineages are relatively common fossils in many marine deposits.
- They follow the breaking edge of the summer ice to hunt for seals, and are even known to attack beluga whales in the water.
- However, paleontology as a whole encompasses all life, from bacteria to whales.
- Scientists believe that now fewer than a hundred of the whales ply the waters near Alaska.
- We saw minke whales, hump backed whales, bald eagles, puffins and moose.
- Laboratory examinations of the heads of the whales showed trauma induced by sound.
- As many as four generations of whales live together in some of these matrilineal groups.
- We were told that whale sharks, whales and dolphins are abundant during the summer, between November and April.
- These whales have been hunted to near extinction, and only about 2,500 exist today.
- Acoustical energy generated by the bodies of whales or large schools of fish can be lower still.
- Orkney folk are being urged to keep a look out for whales, dolphins and porpoises this weekend.
- Sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, porpoise and whales are common around the islands.
- It is our hope and prayer that the humpback and other whales will be protected in the West Indies and other parts of the world.
- Fur seals, elephant seals, and the great whales were all hunted to the brink of extinction.
- Native peoples are still allowed to hunt these whales for food.
- Marine mammals include narwhals, beluga whales, walrus, and ringed and bearded seals.
- Come face to face with polar bears, walruses, harbour seals and beluga whales.
- Dugongs are one of those sea creatures like porpoises and whales which should be completely protected by law.
cetacean, leviathan
Phrases
a whale of a —
informal An exceedingly good example of a particular thing.
you've been doing a whale of a jobhave a whale of a time
Enjoy oneself very much.
- Prize or no prize they seemed to have a whale of a time.
- Members of a local activity group had a whale of a time when they enjoyed their first scuba diving experience.
- He was having a whale of a time, laughing with his mates, and buying drinks for all of them.
- The children from Thorn Park School, a special school for deaf pupils, had a whale of a time - although wet weather confined them to the school hall.
- Principal of St. Joseph's, Vincent Kelly, is delighted with the dedication and willingness of the children, saying ‘they've done very well and they are having a whale of a time.’
- After a lesson in the basics from a qualified instructor, he was soon having a whale of a time.
- ‘At an age when teenyboppers barely know how to party, here are two youngsters who are ensuring party-goers have a whale of a time,’ sighed one of the revellers, taking a break from the jig on the dance floor.
- They joined Ger's brothers in Sydney and had a whale of a time.
- It offers a social scene all of its own, complete with marquee on the Tarbert quayside: racers and spectators alike are guaranteed to have a whale of a time.
- By the end of the session she had all the teachers, old and young, jumping and yelling, twirling and growling in unison, having a whale of a time.
Origin
Old English hwæl, of Germanic origin.
whale2
verb(h)wāl(h)weɪl
[with object]North American informal Beat; hit.
Dad came upstairs and whaled meno object they whaled at the water with their paddles- With that being said, I whaled the hilt off of her skull, and she fell practically lifeless.
- They whaled on Chapman before he could rise from his top bunk, shared with some 60 others in close barracks.
- He really whaled her, screaming and yelling and carrying on like a demented guy.
- I wondered why I should get whaled so, while Nerida, who was older, got off with a You-mustn't-do-that, darling.
Origin
Late 18th century: variant of wale.