What does "whore" mean?
Synonym of prostitute: a person (especially a woman) who offers sexual services for payment.
Whore
/hɔː/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Synonym of prostitute: a person (especially a woman) who offers sexual services for payment.
- Grammar: whore is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: harlot, prostitute, b-girl, backslider.
- Useful contrasts: abstain, admiration, client.
- Usage evidence: For, as blushing will sometimes make a whore pass for a virtuous woman, so modesty may make a fool seem a man of sense.
How to use "whore"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "whore" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "whore" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "whore" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "whore" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "whore" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "harlot" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "whore", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Synonym of prostitute: a person (especially a woman) who offers sexual services for payment. derogatory, vulgar
"The merciless Macdonald – worthy to be a rebel, for that the multiplying villainies of nature do swarm upon him – from the Western Isles of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied, and fortune on his damned quarrel smiling showed like a rebel's whore."
- 2 a woman who engages in sexual intercourse for money wordnet
- 3 A person who is sexually promiscuous; a slut. derogatory, vulgar
"He cals her on a ſudden, all to naught; ſhe is a ſtrumpet, a light huswife, a bitch, an arrant whore."
- 4 A person who is unscrupulous, especially one who compromises their principles for gain. derogatory, vulgar
"You're smart. They're all whores."
- 5 A person who will violate behavioral standards to achieve something desired. derogatory, vulgar
"Vidal is at once more detached and more preoccupied with his own view, celebrating an aristocracy of sensibility constantly thwarted and ignored by those mere whores after fame, the statesmen and politicians."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A contemptible person. derogatory, vulgar
""Begone," Clare shouted. She could not bring herself to kill in cold blood. "Begone, or I'll shoot." "Idiot whore," he shouted back. "You would not dare.""
Verb
- 1 To prostitute oneself. derogatory, intransitive, vulgar
- 2 compromise oneself for money or other gains wordnet
- 3 To engage the services of a prostitute. derogatory, intransitive, vulgar
- 4 have unlawful sex with a whore wordnet
- 5 To pimp; to pander. derogatory, transitive, vulgar
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 work as a prostitute wordnet
- 7 To promote shamelessly. derogatory, transitive, vulgar
"Did you see him on that chat show, whoring his new book?"
- 8 To pursue false gods. derogatory, intransitive, vulgar
- 9 To pursue false goals. derogatory, intransitive, vulgar
"As for those whose hearts go a whoring after the world, and who set their affections on the things of the earth, they cannot love his appearing"
- 10 To overuse something. derogatory, slang, transitive, vulgar
"BTW, that guy whuz still an asshole - camping the BFG and whoring the quad - I usually leave BFG maps but stuck around on that one and suicided quite a bit (3 times I got to about -10 frags, then came back to 0...)."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"For, as blushing will sometimes make a whore pass for a virtuous woman, so modesty may make a fool seem a man of sense."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "whore"?
Common synonyms include: harlot, prostitute, b-girl, backslider, bad egg, bad lot.
How do you use "whore" in a sentence?
For, as blushing will sometimes make a whore pass for a virtuous woman, so modesty may make a fool seem a man of sense.
How do you pronounce "whore"?
Pronounced /hɔː/.
Etymology
From Middle English hore, from Old English hōre, from Proto-Germanic *hōrǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ros (“loved”), from *keh₂- (“to wish; desire”). Cognate with Dutch hoer, German Hure, Old Norse hóra as well as Sanskrit चारु (cā́ru, “dear”), Latin cārus (“dear, expensive”), and Irish cara (“friend”). The unetymological spelling with wh- superficially denotes a formerly standard pronunciation with an excrescent /w/ (such as in whole), but such a form is hardly found in either commentators on Early Modern English pronunciations or records of traditional dialects (which both explicitly mention its rarity or absence), therefore leaving the spelling somewhat inexplicable. However, this may be because such a excrescent /w/ was absorbed by a following /uː/ (as in words with etymological /w/ such as whom, two) after it became established in the spelling but before our earliest orthoepic records.