whiffleball
1570
whif-fle-ball, wiffleball /'wɪfəlˌbɔːl/ n 1 [U] a game simi-
lar to BASEBALL which uses a light plastic ball instead of a
baseball. People in the US often play whiffleball in their
gardens with their friends and family. 2 [C] a ball used for
playing this game
whif-fy /'wɪfi/ adj BrE infml having a bad smell; smelly: The dog
is a bit whiffy.
Whig /wɪg/ n a member of a British political party of the 18th
and early 19th centuries which wanted to limit royal power,
and later became the Liberal Party
while¹ /waɪl/ n [S] a period of time, especially a short one:
Just wait (for) a while and then I'll help you. | She's been gone
quite a while. (=a fairly long time) | He telephoned a little
while ago. | We thought he was at work when all the while
he'd been at the cricket match. → see also once in a while
(ONCE), worth one's while (WORTH)
while² also whilst /waɪlst/ especially BrE— conj 1 during the
time that: They arrived while we were having dinner. | While
she read the paper, I cleaned up the kitchen. | He got malaria
while travelling in Africa. | They got married while still at the
university. 2 although: While I understand what you say, I
can't agree with you. 3 but; WHEREAS: Their country has
plenty of oil, while ours has none.
while³ v
while sthg. ↔ away also wile sthg. ↔ away — phr v [T] to
pass (time) in a fairly interesting or pleasantly lazy way: He
whiled away the hours of waiting by reading a book.
While shepherds watched their flocks by night
the title and first line of a CAROL (=a traditional religious
song sung at Christmas). Children sometimes change the
words to 'While shepherds washed their socks by night...' as a
joke.
whim /wɪm/ n a sudden idea or wish, often one that is not
reasonable or sensible: Government policy changes at the
President's whim/at the whim of the President. | [+to-v] a
sudden whim to buy a cream cake | I bought it on a whim. |
Her grandparents indulged her every whim. (=allowed her
to have or do whatever she wanted)
whim-per /'wɪmpə/ v 1 [I] (especially of a frightened
animal or person) to make small weak cries: The little dog
whimpered when I tried to bathe its wounds. 2 [I;T] to speak
or say in a weak trembling voice as if about to cry: 'Don't
hurt me!' he whimpered. —whimper n
whim-si-cal /'wɪmzɪkəl/ adj amusingly strange; with strange
ideas: a whimsical poem/smile —ly /-kli/ adv ---ity
/ˌwɪmz'kælɪti/ n [C;U]
whim-sy /'wɪmzi/ n 1 [U] a tendency to think or behave
strangely, especially making odd things seem humor-
ous 2 [C] a strange act or idea
whine /waɪn/ v [I] 1 to make a long high sad sound: The dog
whined at the door, asking to be let out. 2 derog to complain
(too much) in an unnecessarily sad voice, usually about
something unimportant: I wish you'd stop whining!
—whine n: the whine of the aircraft's jet engines
whin-er /'waɪnə/ n derog a person who complains, especially
habitually and in an unnecessarily sad voice
whinge, winge /wɪndʒ/ v [I] infml derog, especially AustrE & BrE to
complain, especially continually and in an annoying way
whin-ny /'wɪni/ v [I] to NEIGH (=make the sound which
horses make) gently —whinny n
whip¹ /wɪp/ n 1 a long piece
of rope or leather fastened to
a handle, used especially for
driving animals or punish-
ing people: He cracked his
whip and the horses began to
trot. 2 (in the British system
of government) a) a mem-
ber of Parliament who is
responsible for making other
members of his or her party
attend at voting time b) an order given to members of
Parliament to attend and vote → see also THREE-LINE
WHIP 3 (in the American system of government) a member of
Congress who is elected by his or her party to help the FLOOR
LEADER and who helps persuade other members of his or her
party to support bills that are important to the party 4 a
sweet food made of beaten eggs and other foods (especially
fruit) whipped together
whip
whip² v -pp- 1 [T] to beat with a whip 2 [+adv/prep;T+obj+adv/
prep] to move quickly or suddenly: The wind whipped (=blew
fiercely) across the plain. | He whipped out his gun. | She
whipped off her shoes. | I'm just going to whip across the road
to the bank. 3 [T(UP)] to beat (especially cream or the white
part of an egg) until stiff: whipped cream → see also WHISK,
BEAT 4 [T] infml to defeat completely; beat: Their team really
whipped ours at basketball. 5 [T] BrE infml to steal: Someone's
whipped my pen! 6 [T] to cause (a TOP) to spin by means of a
piece of string fixed to a stick 7 whip someone/something
into shape infml to bring into the desired state by firm and
forceful action: The new coach soon whipped the team into
shape.
whip sthg. ↔ up phr v [T] 1 to cause (feelings) to appear,
become stronger etc: She tried to whip up some interest in the
idea. 2 to make or produce quickly or in a hurry: It's not
much of a meal; I just whipped it up in a few minutes.
whip-cord /'wɪpkɔːd||-kɔːrd/ n [U] 1 a strong type of
cord 2 a strong woollen material.
'whip hand n [the S] a position of power and advantage:
Don't let them do whatever they want; make sure you keep the
whip hand.
whip-lash /'wɪp-læʃ/ n 1 [C] the blow (LASH) from a
whip 2 [C;U] also 'whiplash injury — harm done to the body
by the sudden violent movement of the head and neck,
such as may happen in a car accident
whip-per-snap-per /'wɪpəˌsnæpə||'wɪpər-/ n old-fash infml a
usually young or small person who behaves in a too confi-
dent or important way: Don't talk to me like that, you young
whippersnapper!
whip-pet /'wɪpɪt/ n a small thin racing dog like a GREYHOUND
whip-ping /'wɪpɪŋ/ n a beating, especially as a punishment
'whipping boy n someone who gets most of the blame
and/or punishment for other people's mistakes or wrongdo-
ing → compare SCAPEGOAT
'whipping cream n [U] a type of cream which can be
beaten until stiff
whip-poor-will /'wɪpʊəˌwɪl||'wɪpər-/ n a small North
American bird with a cry like its name
'whip-round n infml, especially BrE a collection of money among
a group of people, for example in a place of work; to give to
one member: We're having a whip-round for old Fred, who's
leaving the firm.
Whip-snade /'wɪpsneɪd/ an open-air ZOO in Bedfordshire
southern England, where the animals are given a lot of
freedom and are kept in natural surroundings
whir /wɜː/ → see WHIRR
whirl¹ /wɜːl||wɜːrl/ v 1 [I;T+obj+adv/prep] to (cause to) move
round and round very fast: The dancers whirled around the
floor. | The letter was picked up by the wind and whirled into
the air. | (fig.) After meeting so many new people, my head was
whirling. 2 [+adv/prep;T+obj+adv/prep] to (cause to) move away
in a hurry: The car whirled them off to the wedding.
whirl² n 1 [S] the act or sensation of whirling; (fig.) My head's
in a whirl (=my mind is confused); I must sit down and
think. 2 [C(of) usually sing.] very fast movement or activity
especially of a rather confused sort: a whirl of activity | the
frenzied social whirl at Christmas time 3 give something a
whirl infml to try something, even though one is not sure that
it will be successful, enjoyable etc: It's an interesting sugges-
tion and I think we ought to give it a whirl.
whir-li-gig /'wɜːlɪˌgɪg||'wɜːrl-/ n 1 a toy which spins; spin-
ning TOP 2 a ROUNDABOUT
whirl-pool /'wɜːlpul||'wɜrl-/ n a place with circular cur-
rents of water in a sea or river, which can pull objects down
into it
whirl-wind¹ /'wɜːlˌwɪnd||'wɜːrl-/ also tornado, twiste
AmE infml — n a tall pipe-shaped body of air moving forward
while whirling at high speed: The school was seriously
damaged by a whirlwind. → see STORM (USAGE)
whirlwind² adj happening very quickly or suddenly: a whirl-
wind romance | a whirlwind tour