verb

blubber

BLUH-buh

verb

To cry loudly and messily, often with heavy sobbing.

"The toddler began to blubber the moment his ice cream hit the ground."

noun

The thick layer of fat beneath the skin of whales and other marine mammals that keeps them warm.

"A whale's blubber can be several inches thick."

Informal: excess body fat on a person.

"He joked about needing to lose some blubber before summer."

How to Use Blubber

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishEither the fatty insulating layer on whales, or (informally, and a bit rudely) fat on a person; as a verb, to cry noisily.

Common mistake

Calling someone's body fat "blubber" is insulting — reserve it for whales unless being deliberately blunt.

Common pairings

whale blubber blubber like a baby

Word Forms

blubbered past tense, blubber plural, blubbered plural, blubbers plural, blubbers plural, blubbers singular, blubber singular, blubbered singular, blubberest singular, blubberedst singular, blubbereth singular

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The toddler began to _____ the moment his ice cream hit the ground.

Etymology

From Middle English bloberen ("to bubble, seethe"), likely imitating the sound or motion of bubbling liquid.

Rhymes for blubber

rubber bubber scrubber

See all rhymes for blubber →