bottlenose dolphin

noun

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bot·tle·nose dolphin | \ ˈbä-tᵊl-ˌnōz-

How to pronounce bottlenose dolphin (audio)

variants: or less commonly bottle-nosed dolphin \ ˈbä-tᵊl-ˌnōzd-

\ or bottlenose

Definition of bottlenose dolphin

: a relatively small chiefly gray toothed whale (Tursiops truncatus) of temperate to tropical waters that has a prominent beak and falcate dorsal fin, reaches a length of 6 to 12 feet (1.8 to 3.6 meters), and is typically found in groups also : a related whale (T. aduncus) of waters of the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean

Examples of bottlenose dolphin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Basically, the scientists patched together the complete ancient genome using modern and extinct bears as templates—think about using a model of a bottlenose dolphin as a guide to assemble the body parts of a killer whale. — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, "In ‘Moon Landing of Genomics,’ Scientists Sequence Ancient DNA From Dirt," 20 Apr. 2021 In other words, the metaphorical unicorn: a kind of beaked whale—in this case, an animal twice the size of a bottlenose dolphin and as heavy as a plow-pulling horse—that had somehow gone unnoticed, never known to be seen dead or alive by human eyes. — J. B. Mackinnon, The Atlantic, "Beaked Whales Are the Animals We Need Right Now," 30 Mar. 2021 Other species of dolphins, such as the bottlenose dolphin and Pacific white-sided dolphin, can also be spotted. — Jessica Poitevien, Travel + Leisure, "Thousands of Dolphins 'Stampede' Off the Coast of California — See the Incredible Video," 1 Mar. 2021 Between the ages of about 4 months and a year, every bottlenose dolphin settles on a whistle of its own that stays the same for the rest of the dolphin's life. — Karen Ravn, Scientific American, "Dolphins Remember One Another for Decades," 7 Aug. 2013 The humpback whale is approximately four times larger than the closely related common minke whale, and the orca whale can be 20 times larger than the closely related bottlenose dolphin. — Athena Aktipis, Scientific American, "How Evolution Helps Us Understand Cancer and Control It," 1 Jan. 2021 Natalie Portman narrates the Disneynature film, about a young Pacific bottlenose dolphin named Echo. — Marisa Lascala, Good Housekeeping, "Every Original Movie Coming to Disney+ You'll Want to Know About," 7 Oct. 2020 Tião, a bottlenose dolphin, spent a few months in 1994 interacting with swimmers on a stretch of coast near São Paulo, Brazil. — Cathleen O'grady, Smithsonian Magazine, "A Dolphin Has Been Living Solo in This Irish Harbor for Decades," 22 July 2020 Scientists had already observed the bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Western Australia synchronizing their movements -- swimming, leaping and surfacing at the same time. — Jack Guy, CNN, "Male bottlenose dolphins form gangs to get a mate," 1 Apr. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bottlenose dolphin.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

27 Apr 2021

Cite this Entry

“Bottlenose dolphin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bottlenose%20dolphin. Accessed 11 May. 2021.

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