blubber
Syllables: blub·ber/ˈblʌbə//ˈblʌbəɹ/
blubber verb: often followed by out: to cry out (words) while sobbing.
Verb
blubber (third-person singular simple present blubbers, present participle blubbering, simple past and past participle blubbered)
- Often followed by out: to cry out (words) while sobbing.
- Here Bliſil ſighed bitterly; upon vvhich VVeſtern, vvhoſe Eyes vvere full of Tears at the praiſe of Sophia, blubbered out, 'Don't be Chicken-hearted, for ſhat ha her, d—n me, ſhat ha her, if ſhe vvas tvventy Times as good.'1749, Henry Fielding, “The Arrival of Mr. Western, with Some Matters Concerning the Paternal Authority”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume VI, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book...
- To wet (one's eyes or face) by crying; to beweep; also, to cause (one's face) to disfigure or swell through crying.
- Her ſvvollen eyes vvere much diſfigured, / And her faire face vvith teares vvas fovvly blubbered.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 13, page 190
- As God sees the water in the spring in the veins of the earth, before it bubble upon the face of the earth; so God sees tears in the heart of a man, before they blubber his face; God hears the tears of that sorrowful soul, which for sorrow cannot shed tears.a. 1632 (date written), John Donne, “Sermon LIII. Preached upon the Penitential Psalms.”, in Henry Alford, editor, The Works of John Donne, D.D., […], volume II, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […]...
- Often followed by forth: to let (one's tears) flow freely.
- Looke on this tree, vvhich blubbereth Amber gum / vvhich ſeemes to ſpeak to thee, though it be dumb, / VVhich being ſenceles blocks, as thou do'ſt ſee, / VVeepe at my vvoes, that thou might'ſt pitty mee: […][1595], Michael Drayton, Endimion and Phœbe. Ideas Latmus, London: […] Iames Roberts, for Iohn Busbie, →OCLC, signature C2, verso
- Behold her novv in humble guiſe, / Upon her knees vvith dovvncaſt eyes / Before the Prieſt: ſhe thus begins, / And ſobbing, blubbers forth her ſins; […]1720, John Gay, “[Tales.] The Mad-dog. A Tale.”, in Poems on Several Occasions, volume II, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], and Bernard Lintot, […], →OCLC, page 335
- To cry or weep freely and noisily; to sob.
- What weepe? fye for ſhame, and blubber? for manhods ſake, / Neuer lette your foe ſo muche pleaſure of you take.c. 1552 (date written), Nicholas Udall, [Ralph Roister Doister], [London]: [s.n.], published 1566?; republished as Edward Arber, editor, Roister Doister. […] (English Reprints), London: Muir &...
- VVhere are you, vvife? my Celia? vvhat, blubbering? / Come, drye thoſe teares, I thinke, thou thought'ſt mee in earneſt?1605 (first performance), Ben[jamin] Jonson, Ben: Ionson His Volpone or The Foxe, [London]: […] [George Eld] for Thomas Thorppe, published 1607, →OCLC, Act II, scene vii, signature F2, verso
- Synonyms:
- beweep, burst into tears, cry, cry one's eyes out, greet, shed a tear, shed tears, squirt some, wail, weep
- To bubble or bubble up; also, to make a bubbling sound like water boiling.
Noun (1)
blubber (countable and uncountable, plural blubbers)
- A fatty layer of adipose tissue found immediately beneath the epidermis of whales and other cetaceans (infraorder Cetacea).
- Though their [the hyena whale or pilot whale's] blubber is very thin, some of these whales will yield you upwards of thirty gallons of oil.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Cetology”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 155
- There was a most Monstrous Whale: / He had no Skin, he had no Tail. / When he tried to Spout, that Great Big Lubber, / The best he could do was Jiggle his Blubber.1937–1961, Theodore Roethke, “The Whale”, in I Am! Says the Lamb, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, published 1961, →OCLC, part 1 (The Nonsense Poems), page 12
- A fatty layer of adipose tissue found in other animals which keeps them warm, especially Arctic animals such as sea lions and Antarctic animals such as penguins.
- There were hundred of slaughtered seals, and it was evident that, as far as the eye could reach, the work of death had been complete. Still something had occurred to prevent the hunters from securing their rich booty, for huge piles of skins, with their adhering blubber, were scattered over the...1877, Charles W[inslow] Hall, “A Change of Base—Building a Snow-hut—The View from the Berg—A Strange Meeting”, in Adrift in the Ice-fields, Boston, Mass.: Lee and Shepard; New York, N.Y.: Charles T....
- A person's fat tissue, usually when regarded as excessive and unsightly.
- Are you numbered among the employed yet? I read the unemployment figures and I shudder. You do not have any stored-up blubber to live on.1977 April 23, M. M. B., “Letter from Home”, in Neil Miller, editor, Gay Community News, volume 4, number 43, Boston, Mass.: GCN, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 16, column 1
- A jellyfish (subphylum Medusozoa).
- You know, Jacob, that the North Seas are full of these animals—you cannot imagine the quantity of them; the sailors call them blubbers, because they are composed of a sort of transparent jelly, but the real name I am told is Medusæ, that is, the learned name.1834, [Frederick Marryat], chapter II, in Jacob Faithful […], volume III, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, page 23
- An act of crying or weeping freely and noisily.
- Fassmann gives dolorous clippings from the Leyden Gazette, all in a blubber of tears, according to the then fashion, but full of impertinent curiosity withal.1858, Thomas Carlyle, “In Papa’s Sick-room; Prussian Inspections; End of War”, in History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great, volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC...
- A bubble.
Noun (2)
blubber (plural blubbers)
- One who blubs (“cries or weeps freely and noisily”); a blubberer.
- [T]hree of the boys, of whom Mr. Hector was sometimes one, used to come in the morning as his humble attendants, and carry him [Johnson] to school. […] The purfly, sand-blind lubber and blubber, with his open mouth, and face of bruised honeycomb; yet already dominant, imperial, irresistible!1832 May, Thomas Carlyle, “[James] Boswell’s Life of [Samuel] Johnson”, in R[alph] W[aldo] E[merson], editor, Critical and Miscellaneous Essays: […], volume III, Boston, Mass.: James Munroe and...
- It was really emotional. I am a blubber at the best of times. I had only been there for 18 months and found it upsetting so it was really hard for the people that had been there for 18 years.2011 April 13, Nikki Sanderson, quotee, “Nikki Sanderson: from the Street to the stage”, in Geordie Greig, editor, Evening Standard, London: Evening Standard, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original...
- Synonyms:
- sobber
Adjective
blubber (not comparable)
- Especially of lips: protruding, swollen.
- Henry Blomfield Grocer in Bungay in Suffolk, about 30 years of age, of a middle ſtature, round viſag'd, of a ruddy complexion, having full blubber lips very remarkable, ſhort brovvn hair curling at the ends, on a ſad gray horſe 14 hands high, did on VVedneſday evening the 20 of this inſtant June...1677 July 5–8 (Gregorian calendar), The London Gazette, number 1211, In the Savoy [London]: Tho[mas] Newcomb, →OCLC, page [2], column 2
- And what like is the Nubian slave, who comes ambassador on such an errand from the Soldan? […] with black skin, a head curled like a ram's, a flat nose, and blubber lips—ha, worthy Sir Henry?1825 June 22, [Walter Scott], chapter XII, in Tales of the Crusaders. […], volume IV (The Talisman), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst...
blubber meaning in Tamil and Malay
blubber in Tamil
- திமிங்கிலக் கொழுப்பு, கொழுப்புப்படிவம், தோலயற்கொழுப்பு
blubber in Malay
- fatty layer of adipose tissue found in other animals
- lemak paus
Examples of blubber in a sentence
- Dear Cloe, how blubber'd is that pretty Face? / Thy Cheek all on Fire, and Thy Hair all uncurl'd: […]1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “A Better Answer”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber […], →OCLC, stanza...
- Phœbe Mayflower blubbered heartily for company, though she understood but little of what had passed; […]1826, [Walter Scott], chapter IV, in Woodstock; Or, The Cavalier. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald...
- But no more of this blubbering now, we are going a-whaling, and there is plenty of that yet to come.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Carpet-bag”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers...
- Poor old Diggs is blubbering like a child.1857, [Thomas Hughes], “The War of Independence”, in Tom Brown’s School Days. […], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, part...
Synonyms of blubber
- beweep
- burst into tears
- cry
- cry one's eyes out
- greet
- shed a tear
- shed tears
- squirt some
- wail
- weep
1 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of blubber
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | blubbers |
| present participle | blubbering |
| past participle | blubbered |
| past | blubbered |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | blubberest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | blubberedst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | blubbereth |
| alternative form (archaic) | blobber |
| Noun | |
| plural | blubbers |
Origin of blubber
The verb is derived from Late Middle English bloberen, bluberen (“to bubble, seethe”); and the noun from Late Middle English blober, bluber (“bubble; bubbling water; foaming waves; fish or whale oil; entrails, intestines; (medicine) pustule”), both probably onomatopoeic, representing the movement or sound of a bubbling liquid, or the movement of lips forming bubbles (compare bleb and blob, thought to be similarly imitative). As both the verb and noun are attested in the 14th century, it is difficult to tell which one developed first; the Oxford English Dictionary suggests that the noun may be derived from the verb. Verb etymology 1, verb sense 1.2 (“to cause (one’s face) to disfigure or swell through crying”) is influenced by blubber (adjective).
From blub + -er (suffix forming agent nouns).
A variant of blabber and blobber, probably influenced by blub and blubber (noun).
Words formed from blubber
Phrases with blubber
Words that rhyme with blubber
1 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about blubber
- What does blubber mean?
- Blubber means often followed by out: to cry out (words) while sobbing.
- What is blubber in Tamil?
- Blubber in Tamil is திமிங்கிலக் கொழுப்பு, கொழுப்புப்படிவம், தோலயற்கொழுப்பு. See Blubber meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use blubber in a sentence?
- Dear Cloe, how blubber'd is that pretty Face? / Thy Cheek all on Fire, and Thy Hair all uncurl'd: […]
- What part of speech is blubber?
- Blubber can be a verb, a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce blubber?
- Blubber is pronounced /ˈblʌbə/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of blubber?
- The past tense of blubber is blubbered.
Words near blubber in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: blubber (page history and authors); blubber (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-blubber.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-blubber.wav.
Cite this entry: “blubber.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/blubber. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.