: any of numerous large marine snails (as of the genus Buccinum)
especially : one (B. undatum) used as food in Europe

Illustration of whelk

Illustration of whelk

whelk

2 of 2

noun (2)

Examples of whelk in a Sentence

Noun (2) unsightly whelks covered the beggar's face
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Accessible by ferry from Port Aransas, which sits just across the shipping channel, this 21-mile-long island offers nothing more than pristine Gulf Coast wilderness, and keen-eyed travelers often stumble upon sand dollars, lightning whelks, angel wings, and conchs. Nicholas Derenzo, AFAR Media, 6 Jan. 2025 Gastropods are a class of mollusks that include snails, slugs and whelks. Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2025 On board the 30-foot Salford sailing whelk yacht, there’s silence except for the creak of ropes and gurgle of our wake. Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2024 However, visitors will find moon snails, conch shells, pen shells, periwinkles, whelks, and olive shells, all indigenous to the area. Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 11 Aug. 2024 The menu is full of seaside favorites, including generous platters and seafood towers overflowing with langoustines, whelks, prawns, oysters, and lobsters. Jade Simon, Vogue, 21 June 2024 Local specimens include lightning whelks and angel wings from the bay and lions-paw scallops and alphabet cones from the Gulf. Robin Soslow, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024 Is there something profound about making a whelk taste, quite pleasingly, like sour-cream-and-onion chips? Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2024 Live channel whelk or conch are for sale at the Newport Lobster Shack on June 30, 2023 in Newport, R.I.Glenn Osmundson At the Newport Lobster Shack, co-op president Dave Spencer hands a channel whelk, or conch, to manager Eileen Braman for a customer on Friday, June 30, 2023. Andrea E. McHugh, BostonGlobe.com, 6 July 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English welke, from Old English weoloc; akin to Middle Dutch willoc whelk and perhaps to Latin volvere to turn — more at voluble

Noun (2)

Middle English whelke, from Old English hwylca, from hwelian to suppurate

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of whelk was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near whelk

Cite this Entry

“Whelk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whelk. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

whelk

noun
ˈhwelk,
ˈwelk,
ˈwilk
: any of numerous large marine snails
especially : one used for food in Europe

More from Merriam-Webster on whelk

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!