Illustration of right whale
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
Examples of right whale in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This species, dating back 9 million years, helps fill a gap in the fossil record and marks a point when ancient right whales began to develop robust flippers.
—
Real-Time News Team, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
The top three seal options feature a right whale, a chickadee encircled by turkey feathers, and a star with other elements like water and hills.
—State House News Service, Boston Herald, 30 Aug. 2025
The three seal finalists included a design pairing a North Atlantic right whale with a white chickadee; a crimson circular seal with six feathers and 351 dashes representing municipalities; and a sun-over-water transformation of the current star.
—Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
But fishing groups say the project is hurting their bottom lines and could be affecting the endangered North Atlantic right whales.
—Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for right whale
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Real-Time News Team, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
The top three seal options feature a right whale, a chickadee encircled by turkey feathers, and a star with other elements like water and hills.
—State House News Service, Boston Herald, 30 Aug. 2025
The three seal finalists included a design pairing a North Atlantic right whale with a white chickadee; a crimson circular seal with six feathers and 351 dashes representing municipalities; and a sun-over-water transformation of the current star.
—Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
But fishing groups say the project is hurting their bottom lines and could be affecting the endangered North Atlantic right whales.
—Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for right whale
Cite this Entry
“Right whale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/right%20whale. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share