bull shark

noun

: an aggressive requiem shark (Carcharhinus leucas) of tropical to subtropical coastal waters that has a short, blunt snout and small eyes, is tolerant of freshwater and may spend extended periods in rivers, and has been known to attack people

Bull sharks—believed to be the culprits in the two recent Florida attacks—are especially pugnacious and often found in shallow water.

—Prakash Gandhi et al.

Examples of bull shark in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Two months later, a bull shark killed a woman swimming off a remote beach north of Sydney. —CBS News, 24 Jan. 2026

Preliminary assessments by the NSW Department of Primary Industries said the 15cm (6 inch) bite was likely from a bull shark. —Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 19 Jan. 2026

The boy was jumping off rocks with friends near what is known as Shark Beach in the eastern Sydney suburb of Vaucluse when he was attacked Sunday afternoon by what officials believe was a bull shark, leaving him with severe injuries to both legs. —Jennifer Jett, NBC news, 19 Jan. 2026

The Department of Primary Industries told The Sydney Morning Herald and the BBC that the shark was likely to be a bull shark measuring 10 feet long. —Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 18 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bull shark

• ballpark
• benchmark
• birthmark
• daymark
• earmark
• embark
• hallmark
• landmark
• monarch
• postmark
• remark
• skylark