to hunt a white whale

9.3

To try to reach a very difficult or impossible goal for a long time

idiom

Informal

: perseguir una quimera

Writing the perfect novel sometimes felt like hunting a white whale.

Examples

She realized she was hunting a white whale in trying to change the company's culture.
After months of hunting a white whale, he finally completed his research project.
Don't hunt a white whale in your career!
I hunt a white whale!
He spent years hunting a white whale in his quest to find the lost city of Atlantis.
After several failed attempts, she knew she was hunting a white whale by trying to win his affection.
Many entrepreneurs feel like they are hunting a white whale when pursuing the next big startup idea.

Synonyms

to hunt

vsto hunt a white whale

322 1.0

To chase someone or something without stopping to catch them

is about pursuing a challenging goal with obsession and persistence

to quest for

vsto hunt a white whale

64 5.4

To search for something that is hard to find

focuses more on obsessive prolonged pursuit than on purposeful searching

to shoot for

vsto hunt a white whale

Informal

30 3.9

To try to reach a big, difficult goal

involves stronger obsession and persistence than merely aiming

to quest after

vsto hunt a white whale

8.0

To go looking for something difficult to find or get

is driven by obsession and relentless persistence rather than steady effort

Antonyms

to give up

∞ 1.2

To stop trying to do something or accept defeat

to abandon

773 3.1

Leave someone or something behind permanently and without care

How Obsessive

to hunt a white whale

Informal

9.3

chase

232 1.0

to pursue

∞ 3.5

to aim for

79 2.8

Surface Forms

hunt a white whale infinitive

hunted a white whale past

hunted a white whale past participle

hunting a white whale present participle

hunts a white whale third person singular

Morphology

hunt + a + white + whale

This phrase is a literary allusion (Moby-Dick) whose idiomatic sense—pursuing an obsessive or elusive goal—is not directly derivable from the literal meanings of 'hunt', 'white' and 'whale'. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words would most likely interpret it literally (searching for a literal white whale) and would need cultural or contextual knowledge to access the idiomatic meaning.

Etymology

Hunt a white whale comes from Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick, where Captain Ahab becomes obsessed with catching a giant white whale that keeps escaping. So, to hunt a white whale today means 'to chase a very hard goal again and again, often in an obsessive way'.