orca

noun

or·ca ˈȯr-kə

plural orcas or orca

: a relatively small toothed whale (Orcinus orca of the family Delphinidae) that is black above with white underparts and white oval-shaped patches behind the eyes : killer whale

Orcas are … the most agile and streamlined of the cetaceans. Found throughout the world, they are intelligent, social, and matriarchal.—

Marguerite Holloway

At the end of the food chain sustained by the krill is the orca … a spectacular animal patterned in black and white, that hunts in groups of up to thirty or forty, feeding on penguins, porpoises and seals.—

John Vandenbeld

There they were, wild orcas. Adrenaline rushed through my body, but I clung to the dock. I knew nothing of these waters or this northern wilderness.—

Alexandra Morton

… nowhere in the world are orca easier to see than on Puget Sound, where new whale-watching cruises bring you close to one of the few resident populations.—

Sunset

Examples of orca in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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To combat this, Branch noted that the baleen whales in the flight group actually produce lower-frequency songs to prevent orcas from homing in on them. —

Monica Cull, Discover Magazine, 7 Feb. 2025 Ocean secrets Tahlequah, a mother orca, became known around the world in 2018 for the heartbreaking act of carrying her dead calf for more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) over 17 days. —

Ashley Strickland, CNN, 12 Jan. 2025 But as temperatures rise, melting sea ice is allowing orcas to access new regions that would have been off-limits before, adding more stress to prey species. —

Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Jan. 2025 Watch Into the Deep: The Submarine Murder Case on Netflix Blackfish Blackfish was a groundbreaking 2013 documentary that, on the surface, was about the orca Tilikum who killed three people throughout his life. —

Keith Langston, People.com, 28 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for orca

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, a genus name, earlier a specific epithet (Delphinus orca, Linnaeus), going back to Latin, "a marine mammal, probably Risso's dolphin," borrowed (perhaps via Etruscan) from Greek oryg-, óryx "kind of marine mammal" — more at oryx

Note: The Roman grammarian Sextus Pompeius Festus assumed that the form of the Latin word reflected a different word orca, "kind of narrow-necked earthenware vessel," from the animal's supposed resemblance to the vase.

First Known Use

1726, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of orca was in 1726

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