A whale of a - definition of a whale of a by The Free Dictionary
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/a+whale+of+a
Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 13,280,928,104 visits served
Search / Page tools
?
Keyboard
  • A
  • A
  • A
  • A
Language:
Share on Facebook Twitter
Get our app
Flashcards ?
My bookmarks ?
+ Add current page to bookmarks
9
Register Log in
Sign up with one click:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
Share on Facebook
Get
our app
  • Dictionary
  • Thesaurus
  • Medical
    Dictionary
  • Legal
    Dictionary
  • Financial
    Dictionary
  • Acronyms
  • Idioms
  • Encyclopedia
  • Wikipedia
    Encyclopedia
Tools
  • A
  • A
  • A
  • A
Language:
Mobile Apps:
  • apple
  • android
For surfers:
  • Free toolbar & extensions
  • Word of the Day
  • Help
For webmasters:
  • Free content
  • Linking
  • Lookup box
Close

whale

(redirected from a whale of a)
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Idioms, Encyclopedia.

whale

hit, beat, strike hard: whale away at the bully; a very large cetacean
Not to be confused with:
wail – moan or lament; to cry loudly: The toddler is sure to wail when his mother leaves.
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

whale 1

 (wāl, hwāl)
n.
1.
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.]

whale 2

 (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.]
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.

whale

(weɪl)
n, pl whales or whale
1. (Animals) any of the larger cetacean mammals, excluding dolphins, porpoises, and narwhals. They have flippers, a streamlined body, and a horizontally flattened tail and breathe through a blowhole on the top of the head.
2. (Animals) any cetacean mammal. See also toothed whale, whalebone whale
3. (Gambling, except Cards) slang a gambler who has the capacity to win and lose large sums of money in a casino
4. a whale of a informal an exceptionally large, fine, etc, example of a (person or thing): we had a whale of a time on holiday.
[Old English hwæl; related to Old Saxon, Old High German hwal, Old Norse hvalr, Latin squalus seapig]

whale

(weɪl)
vb
(tr) to beat or thrash soundly
[C18: variant of wale1]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

whale1

(ʰweɪl, weɪl)

n., pl. whales, (esp. collectively) whale, n.
1. any of the larger marine mammals of the order Cetacea, esp. as distinguished from the smaller dolphins, having a fishlike body, forelimbs modified into flippers, and a horizontally flattened head.
2. something big, great, or fine of its kind: I had a whale of a time in Europe.
3. (cap.) the constellation Cetus.
v.i.
4. to engage in whaling or whale fishing.
[before 900; Middle English; Old English hwæl, c. Old High German wal, Old Norse hvalr]

whale2

(ʰweɪl, weɪl)

v.t., v.i. whaled, whal•ing.
to hit, thrash, or beat soundly.
[1780–90; orig. uncertain]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

whale

(wāl)
Any of various, often large sea mammals that have a streamlined body resembling that of a fish, forelimbs shaped like flippers, a tail with horizontal flukes, and one or two blowholes for breathing. The mouths of whales are toothed or contain baleen.
Did You Know? In a submarine, you can ride down thousands of feet underwater. But if you swam outside it, the water pressure would crush you like a soda can. Amazingly, there are many animals that happily exist in such conditions. The sperm whale, for instance, may dive as deep as two miles with no ill effects. A male sperm whale is like a living tractor-trailer truck, almost 60 feet long and weighing 45 tons. Many adaptations allow the huge creature, and other deep-sea organisms, to function normally at great depths. One important strength is actually a weakness: unlike our rigid ribs, the whale's flexible ribcage allows its chest cavity to collapse in a controlled way as the pressure increases. Other adaptations control the way gases are stored in the blood. Unlike people, whales do not have to return to the surface gradually to avoid getting the bends—the sometimes deadly formation of nitrogen bubbles caused by expanding gas in the blood. Because of this adaptation, whales can swim up and down as fast as they like, undergoing tremendous variation in pressure, with no ill effects. It's all just water to them.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

whale


Past participle: whaled
Gerund: whaling

Imperative
whale
whale
Present
I whale
you whale
he/she/it whales
we whale
you whale
they whale
Preterite
I whaled
you whaled
he/she/it whaled
we whaled
you whaled
they whaled
Present Continuous
I am whaling
you are whaling
he/she/it is whaling
we are whaling
you are whaling
they are whaling
Present Perfect
I have whaled
you have whaled
he/she/it has whaled
we have whaled
you have whaled
they have whaled
Past Continuous
I was whaling
you were whaling
he/she/it was whaling
we were whaling
you were whaling
they were whaling
Past Perfect
I had whaled
you had whaled
he/she/it had whaled
we had whaled
you had whaled
they had whaled
Future
I will whale
you will whale
he/she/it will whale
we will whale
you will whale
they will whale
Future Perfect
I will have whaled
you will have whaled
he/she/it will have whaled
we will have whaled
you will have whaled
they will have whaled
Future Continuous
I will be whaling
you will be whaling
he/she/it will be whaling
we will be whaling
you will be whaling
they will be whaling
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been whaling
you have been whaling
he/she/it has been whaling
we have been whaling
you have been whaling
they have been whaling
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been whaling
you will have been whaling
he/she/it will have been whaling
we will have been whaling
you will have been whaling
they will have been whaling
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been whaling
you had been whaling
he/she/it had been whaling
we had been whaling
you had been whaling
they had been whaling
Conditional
I would whale
you would whale
he/she/it would whale
we would whale
you would whale
they would whale
Past Conditional
I would have whaled
you would have whaled
he/she/it would have whaled
we would have whaled
you would have whaled
they would have whaled
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Noun1.whale - a very large personwhale - a very large person; impressive in size or qualities
hulk, giant, heavyweight
large person - a person of greater than average size
2.whale - any of the larger cetacean mammals having a streamlined body and breathing through a blowhole on the head
cetacean, cetacean mammal, blower - large aquatic carnivorous mammal with fin-like forelimbs no hind limbs, including: whales; dolphins; porpoises; narwhals
baleen whale, whalebone whale - whale with plates of whalebone along the upper jaw for filtering plankton from the water
toothed whale - any of several whales having simple conical teeth and feeding on fish etc.
Monodon monoceros, narwal, narwhal, narwhale - small Arctic whale the male having a long spiral ivory tusk
spouter - a spouting whale
Verb1.whale - hunt for whales
hunt, hunt down, track down, run - pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals); "Goering often hunted wild boars in Poland"; "The dogs are running deer"; "The Duke hunted in these woods"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

whale

noun
Related words
adjective cetacean
male bull
female cow
young calf
collective nouns school, gam, run

Whales and dolphins

beluga, baleen whale, blue whale or sulphur-bottom, bottlenose dolphin, bowhead, dorado, Greenland whale, greyback or grey whale, humpback whale, killer whale, grampus, or orc, minke whale, narwhal, pilot whale, black whale, or blackfish, porpoise, right whale, rorqual, sei whale, sperm whale or cachalot, toothed whale, whalebone whale, white whale
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
حوتحُوت
velryba
hval
Wal
φάλαινα
ballena
valas
baleine
kit
bálna
hvalur
balenacaccia alla balenadivertirsi un sacco
クジラ
고래
banginio taukaibanginio ūsasbanginisdalginis delfinas
valis
walvis
hval
wieloryb
baleia
кит
veľryba
kit
val
ปลาวาฬ
balina
cá voi
鲸

whale

[weɪl]
A. N (whales or whale (pl)) → ballena f
a whale of a difference → una enorme diferencia
to have a whale of a time → pasarlo bomba or (S. Cone) regio
B. CPD whale oil N → aceite m de ballena
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

whale

[ˈhweɪl] n
(= animal) → baleine f
to have a whale of a time (= to have a great time) → s'amuser comme un(e) fou (folle)
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

whale

n
→ Wal m
(inf) a whale of (= exceedingly great, good etc) → ein(e) riesige(r, s); a whale of a difference → ein himmelweiter Unterschied; a whale of a party → eine Wahnsinnsparty (inf); to have a whale of a time → sich prima amüsieren

whale

:
whalebone
n → Fischbein nt
whale fishing
n → Wal(fisch)fang m
whaleman
n (US) → Walfänger m
whale oil
n → Walöl nt, → Tran m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

whale

[weɪl] n (Zool) → balena
we had a whale of a time (fam) → ci siamo divertiti da matti
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

whale

(weil) noun
a type of very large mammal that lives in the sea. walvis حوت кит baleia velryba der Wal hval φάλαιναballena vaal وال valas baleine לִוויָתָן समुद्र में रहने वाला अत्यंत विशाल स्तनधारी प्राणी, ह्वेल kit bálna paus hvalur balena 鯨 고래 banginis valis ikan paus walvishvalwieloryb baleia balenă кит veľryba kit kit val ปลาวาฬ balina 鯨 кит وہیل cá voi 鲸
killer whale noun
a black and white whale. moordvis الحوت الأبيَض والأسْوَد косатка baleia assassina kosatka der Killerwal dræberhval όρκα, φάλαινα-δολοφόνος orca tapjavaal وال کشنده miekkavalas épaulard לִוויָתָן काला एवं सफेद ह्वेल kit ubojica kardszárnyú delfin ikan paus pembunuh balena しゃち 범고래 dalginis delfinas plēsoņdelfīns hitam dan putih ikan paus orka, zwaardwalvis spekkhoggerorkaкосатка kosatka dravá kit orka kit ubica späckhuggare ปลาวาฬเพชรฆาต katil balina 逆戟鯨, 虎鯨,殺人鯨 дельфін-косатка ایک قسم کی کالی اور سفید وہیل cá heo 逆戟鲸,虎鲸
ˈwhalebone noun, adjective
(of) a light bendable substance got from the upper jaw of certain whales. walvisbeen مادَّة قَرْنِيَّه تَنْمو في الفَك عند الحيتان китова кост osso de baleia velrybí kostice das Fischbein barde μπανέλα barba de ballena vaalakius استخوان ارواره نهنگ valaanluu fanon de baleine עֶצֶם לִוויָתָן कुछ ह्वेल क ऊपरी जबड़े से मिलने वाला एक पदार्थ kitova kost halcsont tulang paus hvalskíði fanone, osso di balena 鯨のひげ 고래수염 banginio ūsas vaļa bārda tulang, insang paus baleinhvalbarde fiszbin osso de baleia fanon; os de balenă китовый ус veľrybia kostica ribja kost kitova kost valbard วัตถุแข็งที่ได้จากปากของปลาวาฬบางชนิด balina, balena 鯨鬚 китовий вус وہیل کی ہڈی phiến sừng ở hàm cá voi 鲸须
whale oil
oil obtained from the fatty parts of a whale. walvisolie زَيْت الحوت китова мас óleo de baleia velrybí tuk der Walfischtran hvalolie λάδι φάλαινας aceite de ballena traan روغن وال valaanrasva huile de baleine שֶׁמֶן לִוויָתָן ह्वेल का तेल kitovo ulje bálnazsír minyak ikan hvallÿsi olio di balena 鯨油 고래 기름 banginio taukai vaļa tauki minyak ikan paus walvistraan hvalolje tran óleo de baleia ulei de balenă ворвань veľrybí tuk kitovo olje kitovo ulje valolja น้ำมันที่ได้จากไขมันของปลาวาฬ balina yağı 鯨油 ворвань, китовий жир وہیل کا تیل dầu cá voi 鲸油
have a whale of a time
to enjoy oneself very much. geniet iets baie يَقْضي وَقتا مُمْتِعا جِدا изпитвам голямо удоволствие от divertir-se muito báječně se bavit sich köstlich amüsieren have det skægt διασκεδάζω με την ψυχή μου pasarlo pipa, pasarlo en grande lõbutsema از یکی زیاد لذت بردن pitää todella hauskaa s'amuser énormément תְבָלֵה הֵיטֵב खुब मजे लेना uživati kao nikad remekül szórakozik bersenang-senang skemmta sér konunglega (divertirsi molto) 楽しい思いをする 즐기다 linksmintis brīnišķīgi pavadīt laiku berseronok; bersuka ria zich vreselijk goed vermaken ha det kjempemoro wspaniale się bawić divertir-se muito a se amuza la culme замечательно провести время výborne sa zabávať blazno se zabavati uživati ha jättekul มีช่วงเวลาแห่งความตื่นเต้นยินดี çok eğlenmek 玩得非常愉快 чудово проводити час اپنے آپ میں مگن رہنا giải trí 玩得痛快
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

whale

→ حُوت velryba hval Wal φάλαινα ballena valas baleine kit balena クジラ 고래 walvis hval wieloryb baleia кит val ปลาวาฬ balina cá voi 鲸
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009


Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.

Link to this page:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Feedback
Flashcards & Bookmarks ?
Please log in or register to use Flashcards and Bookmarks. You can also log in with
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
Flashcards ?
My bookmarks ?
+ Add current page to bookmarks
Mentioned in ?
  • Balaena
  • Balaena mysticetus
  • Balaenidae
  • Balaenoptera
  • Balaenoptera borealis
  • Balaenoptera musculus
  • Balaenoptera physalus
  • baleen
  • baleen whale
  • beaked whale
  • beluga
  • black whale
  • blackfish
  • blue whale
  • bottlenose
  • bottlenose whale
  • bottle-nosed whale
  • bowhead
  • bowhead whale
Dictionary browser ?
  • ▲
  • A single to ...
  • A sizes
  • a snowball's chance in hell
  • A son
  • A speaking acquaintance
  • A stand of arms
  • A standard class cabin
  • A standard transmission, please
  • A stick of eels
  • A straight face
  • A straight line
  • A table for four people, please
  • A tea, please
  • a tempo
  • A tempo giusto
  • A ticket, please
  • A to J
  • A to Z
  • a trifle
  • A true bill
  • A Visit from St. Nicholas
  • a way
  • A week ago
  • A week from today
  • A wet blanket
  • a whale of a
  • A wheel within a wheel
  • a while
  • A whisky and soda
  • A white coffee, please
  • A whited sepulcher
  • A wild goose chase
  • A world to see
  • A year's mind
  • a&b
  • A&E
  • A&M
  • A&R
  • a.
  • A. A. Michelson
  • A. A. Milne
  • A. Conan Doyle
  • A. E. Burnside
  • A. E. Housman
  • A. E. Kennelly
  • A. E. W. Mason
  • A. F. of L.
  • A. Noam Chomsky
  • A. testudineus
  • a...
  • a.c.
  • ▼
Full browser ?
  • ▲
  • a well traveled road
  • a well-oiled machine
  • a well-traveled road
  • A West Side Fabrication
  • A wet blanket
  • A wet blanket
  • a wet boy
  • a wet dream
  • a wet firecracker
  • a wet hen
  • a wet noodle
  • a wet-boy
  • a whack at
  • a whack at (someone or something)
  • a whack at (something)
  • a whack at doing
  • a whack at doing something
  • a whack at her
  • a whack at him
  • a whack at it
  • a whack at me
  • a whack at one
  • a whack at somebody
  • a whack at someone
  • a whack at something
  • a whack at them
  • a whack at us
  • a whack at you
  • a whale
  • a whale of
  • a whale of a
  • a whale of a (good) time
  • a whale of a (something)
  • a whale of a [bill etc.]
  • a whale of a [job etc.]
  • a whale of a good time
  • a whale of a something
  • a whale of a story
  • a whale of a time
  • a whale of an
  • a whale of an
  • a whale of an
  • a whale of something
  • a whapper
  • a what if
  • a what-if
  • a wheel
  • A wheel within a wheel
  • A wheel within a wheel
  • a wheeler dealer
  • a wheeler-dealer
  • a wheelie
  • a wheely
  • a whiff of
  • a whiff of (something)
  • a whiff of something
  • a while
  • a while ago
  • A While Back
  • A While Back
  • a whip-round
  • ▼
  • Facebook Share
  • Twitter
CITE
Site: Follow:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Rss
  • Mail
Share:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail
Open / Close
More from Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
Mobile Apps
  • Apple
  • Android
  • Kindle
  • Windows
  • Windows Phone
Free Tools
For surfers:
  • Free toolbar & extensions
  • Word of the Day
  • Help
For webmasters:
  • Free content
  • Linking
  • Lookup box
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy policy
  • Feedback
  • Advertise with Us
Copyright © 2003-2022 Farlex, Inc
Disclaimer

All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.