cetacean

noun ce·ta·cean \ si-ˈtā-shən \

|Updated on: 3 Jun 2018

Definition of cetacean

: any of an order (Cetacea) of aquatic mostly marine mammals that includes the whales, dolphins, porpoises, and related forms and that have a torpedo-shaped nearly hairless body, paddle-shaped forelimbs but no hind limbs, one or two nares opening externally at the top of the head, and a horizontally flattened tail used for locomotion

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cetacean

adjective

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cetaceous

play \-shəs\ adjective

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Recent Examples of cetacean from the Web

Not just an ordinary cetacean but a blue whale, the biggest of the species.

— tom titus, latimes.com, "On Theater: Friends come in all shapes and sizes," 24 May 2018
The plan is to survey sites where offshore wind farms might be built, to assess the risk of any development there interfering with local cetaceans.

— The Economist, "A better way to transmit messages underwater," 10 May 2018
Modern baleen whales include many of the world’s largest cetaceans, such as blue, fin, humpback, right, bowhead, and minke whales.

— National Geographic, "Prehistoric Toothless Whale Among Oldest of Its Kind," 19 Apr. 2018
Wanting to know what killed it, scientists brought the cetacean’s 13,000-pound body to a lab for a necropsy.

— emily atkin, The New Republic, "The Global Crisis of Plastic Pollution," 16 Apr. 2018
Marine experts discovered the rubbish inside the male cetacean’s stomach and intestines Friday during a necropsy, or animal autopsy.

— don sweeney, sacbee, "A sperm whale died from eating 64 pounds of plastic litter, marine experts say | The Sacramento Bee," 9 Apr. 2018
Researchers suspect the giant cetaceans have been feasting on the tiny shrimplike creatures known as krill and unusual concentrations of anchovies near shore, but those populations have been fluctuating wildly in recent years.

— peter fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle, "Suit says Trump administration failed to protect humpback whales," 17 Mar. 2018
Researchers have long guessed at why baleen whales—a group of cetaceans that includes humpback, minke, right whales and others—grew so big.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Why Did Whales Get So Massive?," 24 May 2017
Only males sing them, especially in the breeding grounds, which suggests that music is the food of love for cetaceans, too—though the exact function of the songs is still obscure.

— alison gopnik, WSJ, "Whales Have Complex Culture, Too," 3 Aug. 2017

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