Definition of "whelp" in Anglais

noun

1. A young offspring of a various carnivores (canid, ursid, felid, pinniped), especially of a dog or a wolf, the young of a bear or similar mammal (lion, tiger, seal); a pup, wolf cub.

2. (derogatory) An insolent youth; a mere child.

   • July 13, 1713, Joseph Addison, The Guardian That awkward whelp with his money bags would have made his entrance.
   • October 22, 2011, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, "Luna Eclipsed" Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!

3. (obsolete) A kind of ship.

4. One of several wooden strips to prevent wear on a windlass on a clipper-era ship.

5. A tooth on a sprocket wheel (compare sprocket and cog).

verb

1. (ambitransitive, of she-dog, she-wolf, vixen, etc.) To give birth.

   • The bitch whelped.
   • The she-wolf whelped a large litter of cubs.

interjection

1. Alternative form of welp (“well”).