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Definition of great whale

great whale

Plural:great whales
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• noun

1

Any of the exceptionally large marine mammals belonging to the order Cetacea, typically encompassing all baleen whales and the sperm whale, notable for their massive size and specialized feeding mechanisms.

Example

"International conservation efforts over the past century have helped several populations of great whales slowly recover from the brink of extinction."

Synonyms
View all synonyms for great whale

Word Nuance & Usage

Often used collectively in marine biology and conservation to formally distinguish the largest cetacean species (such as blue, fin, humpback, and sperm whales) from smaller relatives like dolphins and porpoises.

• Nearby Words

great rhododendron
great ruaha
great scarcies
great whale
great whale river
great white shark
greatcoat

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Great whale. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/great-whale
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