whaling

noun

whal·​ing ˈ(h)wā-liŋ 

: the occupation of catching and extracting commercial products from whales

Examples of whaling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Probably the most familiar are humpback and blue whales, which were driven to the brink of extinction not so long ago by commercial whaling, but are making a comeback after an international moratorium was enacted on whaling. —Grrlscientist, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025

This research also highlights the potential ecological impact of historical whale population declines caused by commercial whaling. —Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 12 Mar. 2025

In order to make this hypothesis, Branch assembled data from longitudinal studies and old whaling records. —Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 25 Feb. 2025

Overall, the findings reinforce the idea that these animals are still bouncing back from the damage wrought by commercial whaling, a practice that ended less than four decades ago. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1688, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing whaling

• anti-whaling

Rhymes for whaling

• ailing
• bailing
• baling
• failing
• flailing
• grayling
• hailing
• jailing
• mailing
• nailing
• paling
• railing