WHELP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does whelp mean? 

• WHELP (noun)
  The noun WHELP has 1 sense:

1. young of any of various canines such as a dog or wolf

  Familiarity information: WHELP used as a noun is very rare.

• WHELP (verb)
  The verb WHELP has 1 sense:

1. give birth to (a puppy)

  Familiarity information: WHELP used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WHELP (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Young of any of various canines such as a dog or wolf

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

pup; whelp

Hypernyms ("whelp" is a kind of...):

young mammal (any immature mammal)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "whelp"):

puppy (a young dog)

Derivation:

whelp (give birth to (a puppy))

• WHELP (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they whelp    ... he / she / it whelps   
Past simple: whelped   
Past participle: whelped   
-ing form: whelping   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Give birth to (a puppy)

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

pup; whelp

Context example:

the dog whelped

Hypernyms (to "whelp" is one way to...):

bear; birth; deliver; give birth; have (cause to be born)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

whelp (young of any of various canines such as a dog or wolf)

 Context examples 

By the beard of my father! but ye are whelps of the true breed.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“And look out for squalls,” is Louis’s prophecy, “for they hate one another like the wolf whelps they are.”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Why, you whelp, you even won other fellows' girls away from them, not because you wanted the girls, but because in the marrow of those about you, those who set your moral pace, was the instinct of the wild stallion and the bull-seal.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)