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
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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. 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. 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. Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024 The Patch also draws prey species such as baleen whales, and the action can be dramatic. Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 24 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for baleen whale 

Word History

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of baleen whale was in 1874

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

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