Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

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.