SINCE 1828
blue whale
nounDefinition of blue whale
: a very large baleen whale (Balaenoptera musculus synonym Sibbaldus musculus) that may reach a weight of 150 tons (136 metric tons) and a length of 100 feet (30 meters) and is generally considered the largest living animal
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He’s previously used a blue whale’s earplug to track changing levels of pollution that the whale was exposed to. — Cathleen O'grady, Ars Technica, "Whales are stressed out by climate change, and it shows in their earwax," 16 Nov. 2018 During the 1930s, the authors write, approximately 50,000 fin, humpback, and blue whales were hunted. — Cathleen O'grady, Ars Technica, "Whales are stressed out by climate change, and it shows in their earwax," 16 Nov. 2018 But his more recent research has ramped things up dramatically, using earplugs from 20 fin, humpback, and blue whales that lived through the 19th and 20th centuries. — Cathleen O'grady, Ars Technica, "Whales are stressed out by climate change, and it shows in their earwax," 16 Nov. 2018 Marine life is as diverse as microscopic plankton and the blue whale, the largest animal known to have lived on Earth. — Rosemary Mcclure, latimes.com, "Channel Islands and an expedition ship? It's a match made in heaven," 15 May 2018 But the blue whale, which is the largest animal to ever live and would dwarf an 18-wheeler, is a close relation to the sei, and relatively distant from the humpback, according to the study, published on Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. — Karen Weintraub, New York Times, "Baleen Whales Intermingled as They Evolved, and Share DNA With Distant Cousins," 4 Apr. 2018 All aspects of the natural world are represented here, from a vast collection of taxidermy mammals, to depictions of the life of Native American tribes, to an entire hall dedicated to marine life—including a life-size model of a gigantic blue whale. — John Wogan, Condé Nast Traveler, "25 Best Museums in New York City," 27 Feb. 2018 The Dinner: Soon after cocktail hour, guests were led across the museum to the grand Hall of Ocean Life, where round tables were set up under the enormous blue whale. — Logan Sykes, Town & Country, "The AMNH Museum Dance is Your Childhood Dream Come True," 18 Apr. 2015 This is why a whale is far heavier than a dinosaur of the same size; Supersaurus, estimated at about the same length as the largest blue whale, weighed less than half as much. — Brian Switek, Smithsonian, "Today’s Whales Are Huge, But Why Aren’t They Huger?," 27 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'blue whale.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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