whippet

[ whip-it, wip- ]

noun
  1. one of a breed of small, swift dogs resembling a greyhound, used for hunting rabbits and for racing.

  2. Also called whippet tank . a fast, light tank used by the British in World War I.

Origin of whippet

1
First recorded in 1490–1500; perhaps alteration of phrase whip it move briskly

Words Nearby whippet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use whippet in a sentence

  • And she cared for him, along with a whippet named Jason, until she died at age 74 in 1995.

    The World’s 12 Richest Dogs | The Daily Beast | June 18, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Now the score is settled, the Big Dog can finally accept that the whippet is the winner.

    Big Dog and the Whippet | Tina Brown | November 3, 2008 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • A whippet tank crunched over the wreck and covered the group with its multiple pom-poms.

    The Velvet Glove | Harry Harrison
  • I was dropping asleep when a rabbit rushed under the blanket, all of a shiver, and a whippet dog after it.

    The White Peacock | D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence
  • She was a sea whippet, and prior to the war her bowsprit had nosed into all the famed harbours of the seven seas.

    The Pagan Madonna | Harold MacGrath
  • He scribbled a note on the back of a sales slip and left it at Miss whippet's post by the stocking counter.

    Where the Blue Begins | Christopher Morley
  • Little Miss whippet, although she was fast at typewriting, was hard put to it to keep up with his correspondence.

    Where the Blue Begins | Christopher Morley

British Dictionary definitions for whippet

whippet

/ (ˈwɪpɪt) /


noun
  1. a small slender breed of dog similar to a greyhound in appearance

Origin of whippet

1
C16: of uncertain origin; perhaps based on the phrase whip it! move quickly!

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