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baleen whale
noun
: any of a suborder (Mysticeti) of usually large whales typically of colder waters that lack teeth but have baleen plates in the upper jaw which are used to filter chiefly small crustaceans (such as krill) out of large quantities of seawater see fin whale, gray whale, humpback whale, right whale, rorqual compare toothed whale
Examples of baleen whale in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Within the hour, conservation scientist Lauren Eckert, who is on the board of the Alaska Whale Foundation, had come aboard to give an impromptu talk connecting the ocean’s largest creatures, baleen whales, with its smallest, the tiny floating zooplankton that whales consume in vast quantities.
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Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 4 Jan. 2025
Right whales are filter-feeding baleen whales that were hunted almost to extinction during the height of the whaling industry.
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Michael Irving, New Atlas, 29 Dec. 2024
And beyond baleen whales, the sperm whale is another king-sized species that may make an appearance for guests.
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Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024
The Patch also draws prey species such as baleen whales, and the action can be dramatic.
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Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 24 Nov. 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
1874, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near baleen whale
Cite this Entry
“Baleen whale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/baleen%20whale. Accessed 10 Feb. 2025.
Kids Definition
baleen whale
noun
: any of various usually large whales lacking teeth but having baleen for filtering small ocean animals (as krill) out of seawater compare toothed whale
More from Merriam-Webster on baleen whale
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about baleen whale
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