white whale
nounDefinition of white whale
Illustration of white whale
Examples of white whale in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The media are struggling to fix the nation’s limited August attention on Captain Ahab (a.k.a. House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler) and his quest to nab the great white whale of impeachment. — Andrew C. Mccarthy, National Review, "Losing the War in Forgotten Afghanistan," 10 Aug. 2019 Davis, Ainge’s white whale, is headed to the rival Lakers in a trade to join James, part of a coup orchestrated by Davis’s agent, longtime LeBron confidant Rich Paul. — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, "All of a sudden, the Celtics are hitting the reset button," 17 June 2019 Suddenly, the New Bedford terminal’s break-even point was starting to look as evasive as a certain great white whale. — Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, "State agency loses $20m case over New Bedford terminal," 18 June 2019 Walker is one of the Democratic Party’s biggest white whales anywhere in the country. — Ella Nilsen, Vox, "Every August 14 primary election you should know about, briefly explained," 13 Aug. 2018 Despite, or perhaps because of, that fact, this property, long a white whale, is at risk of becoming a white elephant. — Alex Bhattacharji, Town & Country, "An Empty Lot Above Beverly Hills Is the Most Expensive Real Estate in the World," 17 Jan. 2019 Walker has been something of a white whale for Democrats since he was first elected in 2010. — Tara Golshan, Vox, "Tony Evers elected governor of Wisconsin: Democrats finally unseat Scott Walker," 7 Nov. 2018 His white whale is Enigma, a years-long restaurant endeavor in which Albert seeks to create an immersive piece of dining theater, requiring sacrifice and stress. — Katie Walsh, latimes.com, "Review: Documentary 'Constructing Albert' follows a chef's quest for perfection," 12 July 2018 The Southern Resident killer whale population is just one population of the black-and-white whales, which worldwide are estimated to number in the tens of thousands. — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian, "Pacific Northwest Orca Population Hits 30-Year-Low," 10 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'white whale.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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