[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/blubber.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / blubber

[← B](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/B/)

# blubber

«blubber» in Mova's school dictionary: **the thick layer of fat under the skin of whales, seals…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (blubber, uncountable); verb (blubber, blubbers, blubbered, blubbering — informal)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Blubber is the thick layer of fat under the skin of whales, seals and penguins that keeps them warm in cold water. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/blubber/#m1)

2) (informal) To blubber is to cry noisily, often with tears and sobs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/blubber/#m2)

3) (informal, rude) Blubber is sometimes used unkindly about fat on a person. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/blubber/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons blubber is an adaptation for the cold: it insulates animals like the blue whale and walrus and stores energy. A classic experiment: put your hand in a glove of lard («blubber glove») and dip it in ice water. In history, whale blubber was boiled to make oil for lamps. Phrases: a layer of blubber, blubber glove.

### examples

- Seals have thick blubber to keep warm in icy seas. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/blubber/#x1)
- A whale's blubber can be 30 centimetres thick. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/blubber/#x2)
- Our blubber glove experiment showed that fat keeps out the cold. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/blubber/#x3)
- Long ago, whalers boiled blubber to make lamp oil. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/blubber/#x4)
- Polar bears eat seal blubber for energy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/blubber/#x5)
- (informal) Stop blubbering — it's only a scratch! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/blubber/#x6)
- The little boy blubbered when he lost his teddy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/blubber/#x7)
- He had no time to change his mind, for Kotick’s head was out and his teeth sunk in the blubber of the young seal’s neck. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/blubber/#x8)

### note

Uncountable as a noun: «a lot of blubber». Calling a person «blubber» is cruel name-calling — do not do it. Blubber is fat, not muscle.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «blubber» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/blubber/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.