sperm whale

noun

ˈspərm- 

: a very large toothed whale (Physeter macrocephalus synonym P. catodon) that has large conical teeth in the lower jaw, a single blowhole, and a massive squarish head with a closed cavity containing a fluid mixture of spermaceti and oil, and that may reach a length in the male of nearly 60 feet (18.3 meters)

Illustration of sperm whale

Examples of sperm whale in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When Jay encounters a giant squid being chased by a mammoth sperm whale, he’s unwittingly entangled in the former’s tentacles and swallowed up in one extended, terrifying sequence. — David MacK, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026

In bitterness and grief, Jay goes scuba diving to recover his father’s body and gets swallowed by a sperm whale. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Anyone who has seen the heart-pounding trailer of Whalefall, which follows a scuba diver being swallowed whole by a giant sperm whale, would probably not see said whale as the film’s hero. — Kirsten Chuba, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026

The diver gets swallowed by an 80-foot, 60-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out. — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

short for spermaceti whale

First Known Use

circa 1700, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sperm whale

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

Kids Definition

sperm whale

noun

: a large toothed whale with a large chamber in the skull that contains a fluid mixture of spermaceti and oil