Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
wheelwork
wheelwright
wheen
wheesht
wheeze
whelk (1)
whelk (2)
whelm
whelp
when
when issued
when-we
whenas
whence
whencesoever
whene’er
whenever
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "whelp" in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Blog about this entry on MSN Spaces
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

whelp

whelp [ welp, hwelp ]


noun  (plural whelps)
Definition:
 
1. young animal: a young animal, especially the young of carnivorous mammals such as wolves, lions, bears, and dogs

2. child: a child or young person

3. rude young man: a boy or young man regarded as showing inappropriate boldness or lack of deference ( insult )

4. nautical ridge on capstan or windlass: a projection on the barrel of a capstan or windlass

5. mechanical engineering tooth on wheel: a tooth on a sprocket wheel



transitive and intransitive verb  (past and past participle whelped, present participle whelp·ing, 3rd person present singular whelps)
Definition:
 
bear young: to give birth to young, especially baby carnivores

[ Old English hwelp< Germanic]
Advertisement

Also on Encarta
Englishtown: Learn English online
Our Partners
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
Shopping
© 2009 Microsoft