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 North Pacific right whales are baleen whales that can grow to be 64 feet long and 70 years old if left alone. Julia Daye, Sacramento Bee, 28 May 2024 North Pacific right whales are baleen whales, which feed by straining huge volumes of ocean water through their comb-like baleen plates that trap copepods and other zooplankton. Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 27 May 2024 Fourteen species of baleen whales are instrumental in moving carbon, nitrogen and iron through the ocean, a 2021 study in Nature found. Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024 In a behind-the-scenes video, the teeth are labelled ‘baleen’, as in baleen whales, real-life marine mammals that have tough but flexible keratin hairs inside their mouths that filter their tiny fishy prey from the inflow of seawater. Popular Science, 6 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for baleen whale 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'baleen whale.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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 2 Jul. 2024.

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

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