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

Examples of right whale in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When a pattern of warming waters hit the Gulf of Maine in the early 2010s, right whales started to abandon their feeding grounds. — Ryan Green, Scientific American, 26 Oct. 2026

Some have said the industry needs to be monitored more closely to protect rare North Atlantic right whales, which are vulnerable to getting entangled in fishing gear. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026

Hunting is not the primary threat today to the Florida panther, the North Atlantic right whale or the monarch butterfly. — Timothy Randhir, The Conversation, 1 Oct. 2026

Boaters are being urged to keep a safe distance of at least 100 to 600 feet from humpback whales — and at least 1,500 feet from endangered North Atlantic right whales, as required by federal law. — Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 10 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1725, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for right whale

• airmail
• assail
• avail
• bewail
• blackmail
• cattail
• cocktail
• curtail
• derail
• detail
• dovetail
• email

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