Meaning & use
white whale
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Meanings
nouncountable
A white whale, especially the sperm whale in the novel Moby-Dick, or a whale that is white in color.
Grammar: Countable: a white whale, the white whale, two white whales.
Patterns
- a white whale
- the white whale
The sailors told stories about a white whale that had sunk their ships.
In the novel, the captain hunts a white whale across the ocean.
nouncountablefigurativeliterary
Something that someone pursues obsessively, often something difficult or impossible to achieve.
Grammar: Countable and often used figuratively with a possessive: my white whale.
Patterns
- someone's white whale
- chase a white whale
- the white whale of something
For the scientist, finding a cure became his white whale.
That unfinished novel was her white whale for twenty years.
Word forms
| plural | white whales |
|---|
Common combinations
- chase a white whale
- He has been chasing a white whale in his research for years.
- someone's white whale
- The old case was the detective's white whale.
- the white whale of something
- A perfect translation is the white whale of poetry.
Synonyms and how they differ
Commonly confused: white whale or great white?
white whale vs great white
A great white is a large shark, not a whale; the two are sometimes confused because of the word white.
Practice
After ten years, the missing manuscript had become his ______.
Choose one answer.
A white whale is a figurative obsession or impossible goal. White paper is an official report, white smoke is a signal, and white thread is sewing material.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “white whale”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.