fin whale

noun

|Updated on: 14 Jul 2018

Definition of fin whale

: a baleen whale (Balaenoptera physalus) that may attain a length of over 70 feet (21 meters) and is found chiefly in subtropical to arctic and antarctic waters worldwide — called also finback

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Recent Examples of fin whale from the Web

The fin whale sprawled at my feet will enter the annals of science, but will see little ceremony beyond that.

— matt simon, WIRED, "The Messy, Malodorous Mystery of the Dead 60-Foot Whale," 31 May 2018
Someone reported it beached on May 18, two days after NOAA got word of a ship entering San Francisco Bay with yet another fin whale draped across its bow.

— matt simon, WIRED, "The Messy, Malodorous Mystery of the Dead 60-Foot Whale," 31 May 2018
This fin whale was a victim of the Bay Area’s bustling commerce, ships steaming through the Golden Gate with little regard for our ocean-going mammalian relatives.

— matt simon, WIRED, "The Messy, Malodorous Mystery of the Dead 60-Foot Whale," 31 May 2018
The latest counts put the region's fin whale population at 40,000.

— Fox News, "Iceland company to resume commercial hunting of fin whales," 17 Apr. 2018
On reviewing the dive videotapes, expedition leader Craig Smith and his team saw that the skeleton was probably either a blue or a fin whale.

— crispin t. s. little, Scientific American, "Life at the Bottom: The Prolific Afterlife of Whales," 23 May 2017
Passengers aboard a Newport Coastal Adventure boat off the coast of California this week were treated to nearly an hour straight of two fin whales lunge-feeding on surface krill Capt.

— david caraccio, sacbee, "Watch fin whales feeding off California coast next to small boat | The Sacramento Bee," 23 Jan. 2018
The fin whale, whose body is long and slender, is the second-largest mammalian on Earth after the blue whale.

— david caraccio, sacbee, "Watch fin whales feeding off California coast next to small boat | The Sacramento Bee," 23 Jan. 2018
Whale-watching season now extends nearly year round, as gray whales migrate earlier in the fall — sometimes as soon as mid-November — and boats seek other species such as humpback, blue, minke and fin whales at other times of year.

— deborah sullivan brennan, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Whale watching in the age of drones," 20 Oct. 2017

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