WHALEBONE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does whalebone mean? 

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

1. a horny material from the upper jaws of certain whales; used as the ribs of fans or as stays in corsets

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

 Dictionary entry details 

• WHALEBONE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A horny material from the upper jaws of certain whales; used as the ribs of fans or as stays in corsets

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

baleen; whalebone

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

horn (the material (mostly keratin) that covers the horns of ungulates and forms hooves and claws and nails)

 Context examples 

Then into the hollow goes the whalebone, so, tightly coiled, and another piece of blubber is fitted over the whale-bone.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Mrs. Harden, be it observed, was the housekeeper: a woman after Mr. Brocklehurst's own heart, made up of equal parts of whalebone and iron.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

"It is quite simple. Behold!" He picked up a thin strip of whalebone and showed it to them.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The bear swallows the little round ball, the blubber melts, the whalebone with its sharp ends stands out straight, the bear gets sick, and when the bear is very sick, why, you kill him with a spear.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)