name · verb · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈ(h)waɪ̯.tən/
[ˈ(h)waɪ̯tn̩]
[ˈ(h)waɪ̯ʔn̩]
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -aɪtən
CMU ARPABET:W AY1 T AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:HH W AY1 T AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
name
Meaning 1
A surname.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
verb
Meaning 2
(To cause) to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: ergative
Examples
Age had whitened his hair.
The trees in spring whiten with blossoms.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
verb
Meaning 3
To increase the security of an iterated block cipher by steps that combine the data with portions of the key.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
verb
Meaning 4
To normalize data so that the covariance matrix becomes the identity matrix; i.e., to remove correlations so each variable has unit variance.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: mathematics, sciences, statistics
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
verb
Meaning 5
turn white
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
This detergent will whiten your laundry
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: white
Antonyms: blacken
Broader terms: discolor, discolour, colour, color
Narrower terms: bleach
History
Etymology
From Middle English whitenen, whitnen, from Old Norse hvítna (“to whiten”), from Proto-Germanic *hwītnōną (“to whiten, become white”), from Proto-Indo-European *kwind-, *kwint- (“bright”), equivalent to white + -en. Cognate with Icelandic hvítna (“to whiten”), Swedish vitna, hvitna (“to whiten”), Danish hvidne (“to whiten”). Compare Old English hwītian (“to whiten, become white, be white, make white”).
Across languages
Translations
95 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
بَيَّضَ
(bayyaḍa)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic:
ܡܲܚܘܸܪ
(maḥwir)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Aromanian:
alghescu
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Bulgarian:
избелвам
(izbelvam)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Catalan:
blanquejar
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Esperanto:
blankigi
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Finnish:
vaalentaa
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Finnish:
valkaista
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
French:
blanchir
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Galician:
branquear
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Galician:
albear
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
German:
weißen
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Gothic:
𐌲𐌰𐍈𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽
(gaƕeitjan)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Greek:
λευκαίνω
(lefkaíno)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Greek:
ασπρίζω
(asprízo)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Ancient Greek:
λευκαίνω
(leukaínō)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Hebrew:
הִלְבִּין
(hilbín)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Hungarian:
fehérít
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Ido:
blankigar
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Indonesian:
putihkan
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Italian:
imbiancare
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Italian:
sbiancare
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Japanese:
白くする
(shirokusuru)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Japanese:
白める
(shiromeru)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Korean:
하얗게 하다
(hayake hada)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Latin:
albicō
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Latin:
albō
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Malay:
putihkan
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Māori:
whakamā
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Māori:
whakapūaho
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Polish:
bielić
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Portuguese:
branquear
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Portuguese:
embranquecer
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Romanian:
albi
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Russian:
бели́ть
(belítʹ)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Russian:
побели́ть
(pobelítʹ)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Russian:
отбе́ливать
(bleach)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Russian:
отбели́ть
(otbelítʹ)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Santali:
ᱯᱳᱱᱰ
(ponḍ)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Sicilian:
abbianchiari
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Spanish:
blanquear
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Spanish:
albear
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Swedish:
göra vit
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Swedish:
göra vitare
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Swedish:
bleka
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Turkish:
ağartmak
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Turkish:
aklamak
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Turkish:
beyazlatmak
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Turkish:
beyazlaştırmak
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Ottoman Turkish:
بیاضلاتمق
(beyazlatmak)
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Welsh:
gwynnu
— to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Ainu:
レタㇻ
(retar)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Arabic:
اِبْيَضَّ
(ibyaḍḍa)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic:
ܚܵܘܹܪ
(ḥāwēr)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Bulgarian:
побелявам
(pobeljavam)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Catalan:
blanquejar
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Esperanto:
blankiĝi
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Finnish:
vaaleta
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Finnish:
vaalentua
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
French:
blanchir
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
German:
weiß werden
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Greek:
λευκαίνω
(lefkaíno)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Greek:
ασπρίζω
(asprízo)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Ido:
blankeskar
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Indonesian:
memutih
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Irish:
aol
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Irish:
bánaigh
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Italian:
imbiancarsi
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Italian:
sbiancarsi
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Japanese:
白む
(shiramu)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Japanese:
白ばむ
(shirobamu)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Japanese:
白くなる
(shirokunaru)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Kashmiri:
پرَٛنُن
(pranun)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Korean:
하얘지다
(hayaejida)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Korean:
희어지다
(huieojida)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Malay:
memutih
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Polish:
bieleć
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Polish:
zbieleć
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Polish:
bielić się
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Portuguese:
embranquecer
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Romanian:
albi
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Russian:
беле́ть
(belétʹ)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Russian:
побеле́ть
(pobelétʹ)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Santali:
ᱯᱳᱱᱰ
(ponḍ)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Sicilian:
abbianchiari
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Spanish:
blanquear
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Spanish:
albear
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Swedish:
vitna
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Telugu:
తెల్లబడు
(tellabaḍu)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Turkish:
ağarmak
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Turkish:
aklanmak
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Turkish:
beyazlamak
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Turkish:
beyazlaşmak
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Ottoman Turkish:
بیاضلانمق
(beyâzlanmak)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Ukrainian:
біли́ти
(bilýty)
— to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch