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Definition of silky shark
silky shark
Plural:silky sharks
silky shark Lexical Profile
CEFR
C1
Grade
8
Tier
3
Usage
Rare
• noun
1
A large, highly migratory oceanic requiem shark native to tropical and warm temperate seas worldwide, characterized by a slender body and remarkably smooth, finely scaled skin.
Example
"During the open-ocean expedition, marine biologists tagged a juvenile silky shark to track its migratory patterns across the Pacific."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
The name is derived from the exceptionally smooth, silky texture of the shark's skin, which is the result of unusually small and densely packed dermal denticles (microscopic tooth-like scales).
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.
180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Silky shark. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 15, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/silky shark