What does whopper mean?
Whopper is an informal noun with two connected but distinct uses. It can describe something exceptionally large, impressive, or conspicuous, as in “a whopper of a sandwich,” and it can also refer to a lie or an exaggerated story. The word often carries a playful, emphatic tone: it may suggest that something is unusually big or that a claim is too good to be true. Although used in both British and American English, it is especially characteristic of conversational and informal writing. A whopper may be impressive rather than merely large, while a story described as a whopper is usually not just inaccurate but boldly or absurdly exaggerated. The term is related etymologically to older words for striking or hitting hard, and its modern uses developed from ideas of force, size, and exaggeration.
nounAn unusually large thing or person, especially one that is impressive or striking in size. By extension, it can mean a lie, falsehood, or exaggerated story.
- An unusually large or impressive thing or person.
- A lie, falsehood, or exaggerated story.
"The fisherman caught a whopper that could feed the whole village."
"The new stadium is a whopper, with seating for tens of thousands of spectators."
"That story about meeting a famous actor was a complete whopper."
The standard plural of the noun is whoppers.
"The novel contains several whoppers about the country's history."
A whopper can describe a massive object or an equally enormous story—two very different kinds of exaggeration.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does whopper come from?
Whopper developed through an alteration of whapper, a word built from whap, an older term for a blow or loud sound, with the suffix -er. In early use, the word could refer to a powerful blow and then to a particularly large or impressive thing. During the later nineteenth century, it was also used for a lie or exaggerated story, extending the sense of dramatic or excessive impact.
Related word forms
How whopper is actually used
Whopper is informal and strongly hyperbolic. Its sense for a lie is especially associated with storytelling and exaggeration; in formal contexts, falsehood or lie is usually preferred.