whale¹

(wāl, hwāl)

a. Any of various marine mammals of the order Cetacea; a cetacean.

b. Any of various larger members of this order, including the blue whale, humpback whale, and right whale, in contrast to the porpoises and dolphins.

2. Informal An impressive example: a whale of a story.

intr.v. whaled, whal·ing, whales

To engage in the hunting of whales.

[Middle English, from Old English hwæl.]

whale²

(wāl, hwāl)

v. whaled, whal·ing, whales

v.tr.

1. To strike or hit repeatedly and forcefully; thrash.

2. To strike or hit (a ball) with great force.

v.intr.

1. To strike or hit a person or thing repeatedly and forcefully: whaled away at the plaster wall with a mallet.

2. To swing at a ball with great effort, especially repeatedly.

3. To attack vehemently: The poet whaled away at the critics.

[Origin unknown.]

Whales

(wālz, hwālz), Bay of

An inlet of the Ross Sea in the Ross Ice Shelf of Antarctica. It has been used as a base for Antarctic expeditions since 1911.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Whales

(ʰweɪlz, weɪlz)

n.

Bay of, an inlet of the Ross Sea, in Antarctica: location of Little America.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

As Queequeg and I are now fairly embarked in this business of whaling; and as this business of whaling has somehow come to be regarded among landsmen as a rather unpoetical and disreputable pursuit; therefore, I am all anxiety to convince ye, ye landsmen, of the injustice hereby done to us hunters of whales. In the first place, it may be deemed almost superfluous to establish the fact, that among people at large, the business of whaling is not accounted on a level with what are called the liberal professions.

By old English statutory law, the whale is declared a royal fish.

View in context

I have given no small attention to that not unvexed subject, the skin of the whale. I have had controversies about it with experienced whalemen afloat, and learned naturalists ashore.

View in context

A staff on a whale watching tour boat explains about whales to tourists on the boat in the sea near Rausu, Hokkaido, Japan, July 1.

In Japan, whale-watching overshadows hunting

Five ships packed with harpoons arrived back with catches on Monday, which included two Minke whales.

HAUL OF SHAME; JAPAN ALLOWS WHALING AFTER 31 YEARS Outcry as harpoon ships return to seas

FILE PHOTO : Captured short-finned pilot whales are seen on the deck of a whaling ship at Taiji Port in Japan's oldest whaling village of Taiji, 420 km (260 miles) southwest of Tokyo June 4, 2008.

Japan resumes commercial whaling after 3-decade hiatus

The Fisheries Agency said the catch quota through the end of this year is set at 227 whales, fewer than the 333 Japan hunted in the Antarctic in recent years.

Japan resumes commercial whaling, seen as face-saving end

'We confirmed that it's a calf of the blue whale after sharing its picture with other experts,' said Mohammad Moazzam Khan, a representative of the WWF-P and also the president of the Pakistan Whales and Dolphins Society.

Whale found washed ashore on Gwadar beach

The Bryde's whale, scientifically known as Balaenoptera edeni, is among the three rorqual or baleen whales found in Pakistani waters.

Whale found dead on Gwadar coast, cause of death unknown

He said that it seemed that the whale had collided with a ship and was fatally injured.The Bryde's whale, scientifically known as Balaenoptera edeni, is among the three rorqual or baleen whales found in Pakistani waters.

Whale's carcass found on Gwadar coast

In the Philippines, sperm whales can be seen alone or in groups in Bohol Sea and Sulu Sea and around the Batanes group of islands.

Whale takes center stage at National Museum

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