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whelk

1 American  
[hwelk, welk] / ʰwɛlk, wɛlk /

noun

  1. any of several large, spiral-shelled, marine gastropods of the family Buccinidae, especially Buccinum undatum, that is used for food in Europe.

whelk 2 American  
[welk, hwelk] / wɛlk, ʰwɛlk /

noun

  1. a pimple or pustule.

whelk 1 British  
/ wɛlk /

noun

  1. any carnivorous marine gastropod mollusc of the family Buccinidae, of coastal waters and intertidal regions, having a strong snail-like shell

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
whelk 2 British  
/ wɛlk /

noun

  1. a raised lesion on the skin; wheal

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • whelky adjective

Etymology

Origin of whelk1

before 900; late Middle English, aspirated variant of Middle English welk, Old English weoloc

Origin of whelk2

before 1000; Middle English whelke, Old English hwylca, hwelca; akin to wheal

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A pair of cases are devoted to items from the Nanticoke people, including a wampum belt and necklace featuring whelk and clam shells and a toy canoe crafted from pine needles and sinew.

From Washington Post • Nov. 22, 2022

They’ve placed 10,000 bags of oysters and whelk shells there since 2015.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 28, 2022

It reported the boat was regularly "operated in an unsafe manner", with the priority on carrying a large whelk catch, rather than on making sure it was stable at sea.

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2022

Were I running a modestly sized whelk stall, let alone the White House, the very last person I would allow behind the scenes to observe and report on its secrets would be Michael Wolff.

From The Guardian • Jan. 7, 2018

“Why, he’s just like a counterfeit is when you pull his tail out of a whelk shell.”

From Devon Boys A Tale of the North Shore by Browne, Gordon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.