whalenoun [ C ]
uk/weɪl/us/weɪl/B1 a very large sea mammal that breathes air through a hole at the top of its head
Examples
- The communicative ability of the whale is thought to be highly developed.
- International measures have been taken to prevent the extermination of the whale .
- The whale has a very distinctive call.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Marine mammals
- cetacean
- dolphin
- killer whale
- orca
- porpoise
- sea lion
- seal
- sperm whale
- walrus
Examples from literature
- Blue whales are the largest and loudest animals in the world.
- Do you think whales or people are more dangerous to sharks?
- Is your dream vacation watching whales jump out of the ocean while you swim?
- Other whales can hear it thousands of kilometers away.
- The blue whale eats more than 3,000 kilograms of fish every day.
- The tongue of the blue whale is so big that 50 people can stand on it!
- Then the whale eats all the fish.
- These ecosystems have many different kinds of ocean life, including whales and turtles.
- Whales and dolphins look like fish, but they’re really mammals!
Idiom(s)
have a whale of a time
a whale of a