white whale

noun

1
2
or less commonly great white whale : something (such as a goal or object) that is obsessively pursued
It was the old man's white whale, the holy grail shining at the end of the dream, on and off the rails, as he chased scripts, directors, and movie stars of the proper magnitude.Rich Cohen
For drug makers, developing the first Alzheimer's therapy has long been seen as the great white whale: the toughest challenge and biggest opportunity.Robert Weisman

Illustration of white whale

Illustration of white whale
  • white whale 1

Examples of white whale in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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If the Browns opt to hold onto their best player — and the Packers can’t get their white whale — here are a few players that might make sense. Rob Reischel, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024 Warning: The following contains spoilers from Season 2, Episode 1 of Tracker. Related Stories Tracker Shake-Up: [Spoiler] Out Ahead of Season 2 (Exclusive) Why the Tracker Team Isn’t Thinking About Spinoffs (Yet) CBS‘ Tracker just introduced Colter Shaw’s white whale. Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 13 Oct. 2024 People always ask me what my vintage white whale is. Margaux Anbouba, Vogue, 10 Oct. 2024 Most of my friends are on their fourth round, but there are a few white whales left — Martin Scorsese, Sofia Coppola, Spike Lee, the legends. Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for white whale 

Word History

Etymology

(sense 2) after the white sperm whale obsessively hunted by Captain Ahab in Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick (1851)

First Known Use

1635, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of white whale was in 1635

Dictionary Entries Near white whale

Cite this Entry

“White whale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%20whale. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

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