Whitehall

//ˈwaɪthɔːl// name

name ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    the British civil service wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A wide street in Westminster between Parliament Square and Trafalgar Square; it houses several government offices. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    The British government or civil service UK, broadly, countable, metonymically, uncountable

    "Britain's securocracy - Whitehall spymasters, backed up by government lawyers, engaged in the increasingly thankless task of preserving state secrets - are faced with an intriguing conundrum. What do they do when the bulwark they have been relying on for so long to protect their secrets crumbles before their eyes?"

  3. 3
    A number of other places in England:; An eastern suburb of Bristol (OS grid ref ST6174). countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    A number of other places in England:; A hamlet in Hemyock parish, Mid Devon district, Devon (OS grid ref ST1214). countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    A number of other places in England:; A hamlet in Marwood parish, North Devon district, Devon (OS grid ref SS5337). countable, uncountable
Show 23 more definitions
  1. 6
    A number of other places in England:; A hamlet in Odiham parish, Hart district, Hampshire (OS grid ref SU7452). countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    A number of other places in England:; A hamlet in Sandon parish, North Hertfordshire district, Hertfordshire (OS grid ref TL3331). countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    A number of other places in England:; A suburb of Darwen, Blackburn with Darwen borough, Lancashire (OS grid ref SD6920). countable, uncountable
  4. 9
    A number of other places in England:; A hamlet in Shipley parish, Horsham district, West Sussex (OS grid ref TQ1321). countable, uncountable
  5. 10
    A village on the isle of Stronsay, Orkney Islands council area, Scotland (OS grid ref HY6528). countable, uncountable
  6. 11
    A northern suburb of Dublin, Ireland (Irish grid ref O 1638). countable, uncountable
  7. 12
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Poinsett County, Arkansas. countable, uncountable
  8. 13
    A number of places in the United States:; Former spelling of White Hall, California. countable, uncountable
  9. 14
    A number of places in the United States:; A neighbourhood of Athens, Clarke County, Georgia. countable, uncountable
  10. 15
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Clay Township, Owen County, Indiana. countable, uncountable
  11. 16
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in LaSalle Parish, Louisiana. countable, uncountable
  12. 17
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Livingston Parish, Louisiana. countable, uncountable
  13. 18
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Dorchester County, Maryland. countable, uncountable
  14. 19
    A number of places in the United States:; A city and township in Muskegon County, Michigan. countable, uncountable
  15. 20
    A number of places in the United States:; A town in Jefferson County, Montana. countable, uncountable
  16. 21
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Andover Township, Sussex County, New Jersey. countable, uncountable
  17. 22
    A number of places in the United States:; A town and village therein, in Washington County, New York. countable, uncountable
  18. 23
    A number of places in the United States:; A city in Franklin County, Ohio. countable, uncountable
  19. 24
    A number of places in the United States:; A borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. countable, uncountable
  20. 25
    A number of places in the United States:; A township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. countable, uncountable
  21. 26
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in King and Queen County, Virginia. countable, uncountable
  22. 27
    A number of places in the United States:; A city, the county seat of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin. countable, uncountable
  23. 28
    A surname from Middle English. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
authoritiesestablishmentgovernmentpowers that be

Example

More examples

"Britain's securocracy - Whitehall spymasters, backed up by government lawyers, engaged in the increasingly thankless task of preserving state secrets - are faced with an intriguing conundrum. What do they do when the bulwark they have been relying on for so long to protect their secrets crumbles before their eyes?"

Etymology

From Middle English whit (“white”) + halgh (“corner, nook; hall”).

Related phrases

civil servicecounty seatdowning streettrafalgar squaretrempealeau county

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.