baleen whale

noun

: any of a suborder (Mysticeti) of usually large whales typically of colder waters that lack teeth but have baleen plates in the upper jaw which are used to filter chiefly small crustaceans (such as krill) out of large quantities of seawater see fin whale, gray whale, humpback whale, right whale, rorqual compare toothed whale

Examples of baleen whale in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Notably, a 2025 study published in Nature Communications observed that baleen whale migration (including gray whales) facilitates the transportation of essential nutrients — from their placenta, carcasses and even their urea — between polar feeding grounds and tropical breeding areas. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026

Bryde’s whales are large baleen whales commonly found in warm, tropical and subtropical waters. —Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 4 Jan. 2026

Scientists at Museums Victoria’s Research Institute say the discovery offers a rare glimpse into the earliest stages of baleen whale evolution, showing the family’s roots in active, sharp-toothed predators. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 13 Aug. 2025

How the study was conducted The study reviewed 199 separate exchanges between 19 different species of dolphins and baleen whales captured in videos and photos. —Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 13 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for baleen whale

• abigail
• cottontail
• countervail
• fingernail
• martingale
• mesoscale
• microscale
• monorail
• nanoscale
• ponytail
• swallowtail
• wensleydale

Kids Definition

baleen whale

noun

: any of various usually large whales lacking teeth but having baleen for filtering small ocean animals (as krill) out of seawater compare toothed whale