great white whale

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableliterary

   A large white whale, especially the white sperm whale hunted in the novel Moby-Dick.

   Grammar: Countable, so it can be 'a great white whale' or 'the great white whale'.

   Patterns

   • a great white whale
   • the great white whale

   In the novel, the captain sails the world chasing a great white whale.

   Sailors told stories of a great white whale that no harpoon could reach.

2. 2nouncountablefigurative

   An aim or desire that someone pursues for a very long time and may never achieve.

   Grammar: Usually used with 'his', 'her', 'the' and a singular verb, as a metaphor.

   Patterns

   • someone's great white whale
   • chase a great white whale

   A cure for the disease has become the great white whale of modern medicine.

   Finishing his novel was his great white whale: twenty years of writing and rewriting.

Word forms

Common combinations

chase a great white whale

He has been chasing a great white whale of a business idea since college.

someone's great white whale

That lost film is the great white whale of cinema historians.

a great white whale of a project

The tunnel became a great white whale of a project that swallowed the budget.

Synonyms and how they differ

obsession

Names the feeling itself; 'great white whale' names the thing pursued and adds a literary, hopeless tone.

white whale

The short form is common in journalism and means the same figurative thing.

Word family

white adjective

Of the lightest color, like fresh snow or milk.

whaling noun

The activity or industry of hunting whales.

Commonly confused: great white whale or great white shark?

Practice

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