gray whale

noun

: a large baleen whale (Eschrichtius robustus) of the northern Pacific having short jaws and no dorsal fin

Examples of gray whale in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Zodiac wildlife tours go out regardless of weather; on ours, a humpback, a mother-and-calf gray whale, an orca, and otters clapping their paws like an audience all made an appearance. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Sep. 2026

Whale watchers, meanwhile, should consider late March, when migrating gray whales travel north along the Oregon Coast toward their summer feeding grounds. — Sierra Vandervort, Travel + Leisure, 10 Sep. 2026

Scientists have scrambled to investigate, hoping to prevent further deaths in a species that has been in decline for years—gray whales lost 35 percent of their population between 2020 and 2025. — Ainslie Cruickshank, Scientific American, 9 Sep. 2026

According to the center, this case marks the 13th dead gray whale found in the wider Bay Area so far this year. — Tim Fang, CBS News, 11 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gray whale

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

Kids Definition

gray whale

noun

: a large baleen whale of the northern Pacific Ocean