right whale

noun

: any of several large baleen whales (family Balaenidae and especially genus Eubalaena) that lack a dorsal fin and have very long baleen plates, an extremely large head with a V-shaped blowhole, a smooth throat, short, broad, rounded flippers, and whitish protuberances of thickened skin about the head

Illustration of right whale

Illustration of right whale

Examples of right whale in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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From coastal Virginia to Maine in the far northeast, the region has in fact witnessed unusual mortality among Atlantic Minke whales, Atlantic humpback whales and endangered North Atlantic right whales. Lindsey Leake, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2024 Pregnant female whales, accompanied by assorted other right whales, migrate along the Atlantic Coast each winter from Maine and Nova Scotia to the coast of Florida and Georgia for a calving season. Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 20 Sep. 2024 This has a wide range of applications– one, according to Fielding, is making sure container ships don’t run into endangered right whales. Allison Beck, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2024 Their concerns include a possible threat to the endangered North Atlantic right whales that frequent the area, says Brett Hartl, government affairs director for the Center for Biological Diversity, which asked EPA to deny the permits. Bywarren Cornwall, science.org, 14 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for right whale 

Word History

First Known Use

1725, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of right whale was in 1725

Dictionary Entries Near right whale

Cite this Entry

“Right whale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/right%20whale. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

right whale

noun
: a large baleen whale with no fin on the back, a very large head, and small eyes near the lower part of the mouth

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