whing|er / h w I ndʒə r / (whingers ) N‑COUNT If you call someone a whinger , you are critical of them because they complain about unimportant things all the time. [BRIT , INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ]
whin|ny / h w I ni/ (whinnies , whinnying , whinnied ) VERB When a horse whinnies , it makes a series of high-pitched sounds, usually not very loudly. □ [V ] The girl's horse whinnied. ● N‑COUNT Whinny is also a noun. □ With a terrified whinny, the horse shied.
whip ◆◇◇ / h w I p/ (whips , whipping , whipped )
1 N‑COUNT A whip is a long thin piece of material such as leather or rope, fastened to a stiff handle. It is used for hitting people or animals.
2 VERB If someone whips a person or animal, they beat them or hit them with a whip or something like a whip. □ [V n] Eye-witnesses claimed Mr Melton whipped the horse up to 16 times. ● whip|ping (whippings ) N‑COUNT □ He threatened to give her a whipping.
3 VERB If something, for example the wind, whips something, it strikes it sharply. [LITERARY ] □ [V n] A terrible wind whipped our faces.
4 VERB If someone whips something out or whips it off, they take it out or take it off very quickly and suddenly. □ [V n with adv] Bob whipped out his notebook. □ [V n with adv] Players were whipping their shirts off.
5 VERB When you whip something liquid such as cream or an egg, you stir it very fast until it is thick or stiff. □ [V n] Whip the cream until thick. □ [V n adv/prep] Whip the eggs, oils and honey together. □ [V -ed] …strawberries and whipped cream.
6 VERB If you whip people into an emotional state, you deliberately cause and encourage them to be in that state. □ [V n + into ] He could whip a crowd into hysteria.
7 N‑COUNT A whip is a member of a political party in a parliament or legislature who is responsible for making sure that party members are present to vote on important issues and that they vote in the appropriate way. □ The whips have the job of making sure MPs toe the line.
8 PHRASE If you have the whip hand , you have power over someone else in a particular situation. □ These days the shopper has the whip hand, and will not buy at high prices.
▸ whip up PHRASAL VERB If someone whips up an emotion, especially a dangerous one such as hatred, or if they whip people up into an emotional state, they deliberately cause and encourage people to feel that emotion. □ [V P n] He accused politicians of whipping up anti-foreign sentiments in order to win right-wing votes. [Also V n P + into ]
whip|lash / h w I plæʃ/ N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Whiplash is a neck injury caused by the head suddenly moving forwards and then back again, for example in a car accident. □ His daughter suffered whiplash and shock.
whip|per|snap|per / h w I pə r snæpə r / (whippersnappers ) N‑COUNT If you refer to a young person as a whippersnapper , you disapprove of them because you think that they are behaving more confidently than they should. [INFORMAL , OLD-FASHIONED , DISAPPROVAL ]
whip|pet / h w I p I t/ (whippets ) N‑COUNT A whippet is a small thin dog with long legs. Some whippets are used for racing.
whi p|ping boy (whipping boys ) N‑COUNT If someone or something is a whipping boy for a particular situation, they get all the blame for it. □ [+ for ] He has become a convenient whipping boy for the failures of the old regime.
whi p|ping cream N‑UNCOUNT Whipping cream is cream that becomes stiff when it is stirred very fast.
whip|poor|will /w I pʊə r w I l/ (whippoorwills ) N‑COUNT A whippoorwill is a North American bird that is active at night and has a call that sounds like 'whip poor will'.
whi ^p-round N‑SING When a group of people have a whip-round , money is collected from each person so that it can be used to buy something for all of them or for someone they all know. [INFORMAL ]
whir / h wɜː r / → see whirr
whirl / h wɜː r l/ (whirls , whirling , whirled )
1 VERB If something or someone whirls around or if you whirl them around, they move around or turn around very quickly. □ [V adv/prep] Not receiving an answer, she whirled round. □ [V n adv/prep] He was whirling Anne around the floor. □ [V ] The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column. [Also V n] ● N‑COUNT Whirl is also a noun. □ [+ of ] …the barely audible whirl of wheels.
2 N‑COUNT [usu sing] You can refer to a lot of intense activity as a whirl of activity. □ [+ of ] In half an hour's whirl of activity, she does it all. □ Your life is such a social whirl.
3 PHRASE If you decide to give an activity a whirl , you do it even though it is something that you have never tried before. [INFORMAL ] □ Why not give acupuncture a whirl? □ We decided to give it a whirl.
whirl|pool / h wɜː r lpuːl/ (whirlpools ) N‑COUNT A whirlpool is a small area in a river or the sea where the water is moving quickly round and round, so that objects floating near it are pulled into its centre.
whirl|wind / h wɜː r lw I nd/ (whirlwinds )
1 N‑COUNT A whirlwind is a tall column of air which spins round and round very fast and moves across the land or sea.
2 N‑COUNT [usu sing] You can describe a situation in which a lot of things happen very quickly and are very difficult for someone to control as a whirlwind . □ [+ of ] I had been running around southern England in a whirlwind of activity.