whimper

1 of 2

verb

whim·​per ˈ(h)wim-pər How to pronounce whimper (audio)
whimpered; whimpering ˈ(h)wim-p(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce whimper (audio)

intransitive verb

1
: to make a low whining plaintive or broken sound
2
: to complain or protest with or as if with a whimper

whimper

2 of 2

noun

1
: a whimpering cry or sound
2
: a petulant complaint or protest
the bill passed without a whimper

Examples of whimper in a Sentence

Verb I could hear the puppy whimpering. She whimpered about having to get up early. “Where are you going?” she whimpered. Noun I could hear the puppy's whimpers. patiently posed for dozens of photographs without so much as a whimper
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
There were dogs in the back, from the neighbors in the back, that were whimpering and crying. Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2023 On the plane, Angela and Will are seated behind a baby who whimpers feebly from takeoff to landing. Clare Sestanovich, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023 Maria Leonor Montalvo whimpered as her sons spoke to her from across the courtroom Thursday morning. Lana Ferguson, Dallas News, 14 Sep. 2023 Operating on super-unleaded fuel, the engine adroitly belies the mass of machinery within, never whimpering on the way to its impressive 6500-rpm redline. Larry Griffin, Car and Driver, 24 Apr. 2023 Mona makes her son whimper, too. Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Apr. 2023 Each passenger lets out a combo of scream and whimper in response to Qualify mode's 986 horses. Tony Quiroga, Car and Driver, 13 Mar. 2023 People who like the methodical grid system of Manhattan will whimper and cry at the baffling knot of streets of England’s capital. Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 8 Dec. 2011 Find a comfortable spot away from the chaos to curl up and whimper. Dan Wiederer, Chicago Tribune, 24 Oct. 2022
Noun
In a year already jam-packed with marquee releases from Ariana Grande, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, Boone started off his year with a somewhat whimper, followed by a big bang. Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024 Boeing has shed 15% of its market capitalization since the Jan. 5 failure—roughly $22 billion—starting the year with both a literal bang and a whimper. Bysasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 18 Jan. 2024 The priorities sounded clear for University of Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman on Friday night after his team ended the season with a whimper in a 48-14 loss to No. 9 Missouri in the Battle Line Rivalry. Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 26 Nov. 2023 Maybe this uneven experiment with fashioning an extended universe was always meant to go out not with a bang but with an air-bubble of a whimper. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 Dec. 2023 Some things die not with a bang but with a whimper. Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024 But those aspirations ended with a whimper, as a thorny tax issue, rising construction costs and a changing vision complicated the the project, leaving it hundreds of millions of dollars over budget and sending decision-makers back to the drawing board. Hayes Gardner, Baltimore Sun, 5 Jan. 2024 Dustin Bradford / Getty Images The Colorado Buffaloes’ season may have ended with a whimper, but head coach Deion Sanders’ audacity and tenderness as a coach have been nothing short of endearing, particularly for Black Buffaloes fans, new and old. Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 4 Dec. 2023 Outside the windowless offices, the anthropocene was over—somehow these hapless menials had missed its bang or its whimper—and the pre-human food chain was busy reasserting itself. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'whimper.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

imitative

First Known Use

Verb

1513, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

circa 1700, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of whimper was in 1513

Dictionary Entries Near whimper

Cite this Entry

“Whimper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whimper. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

whimper

1 of 2 verb
whim·​per ˈhwim-pər How to pronounce whimper (audio)
ˈwim-
whimpered; whimpering -p(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce whimper (audio)
: to utter weak interrupted cries
whimpered in pain

whimper

2 of 2 noun
: a whimpering cry

More from Merriam-Webster on whimper

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