SINCE 1828
gray whale
nounDefinition of gray whale
: a large baleen whale (Eschrichtius robustus) of the northern Pacific having short jaws and no dorsal fin
Examples of gray whale in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Makah Tribe conducted its first whale hunt in 70 years in 1999, bringing a gray whale to the same beach. — Lynda V. Mapes, The Seattle Times, "Whale killed by ship near Neah Bay now a harvest celebration as Makah Nation prepares feast," 24 Aug. 2018 On the Bay Area coast, the annual winter trips, which focus on the gray whale migration, start this weekend out of Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay. — Tom Stienstra, San Francisco Chronicle, "Whale of a time for whale watching," 7 Jan. 2018 Some giants have managed to bounce back, such as humpbacks and West Coast gray whales. — Brian Switek, Smithsonian, "Today’s Whales Are Huge, But Why Aren’t They Huger?," 27 June 2018 However, the Romans would have had the skills to hunt right and gray whales, which hug the coast. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "Romans May Have Hunted Whales to Extinction in Their Home Waters," 11 July 2018 Among the lost so far this season: a 31-foot-long yearling gray whale that was hit by a ship and washed ashore on Thursday, dying hours later. — Anchorage Daily News, "Whale strandings off Washington-Oregon coast highest in nearly 2 decades," 3 July 2018 The orcas were thwarted and the baby gray whale was saved. — Tom Stienstra, San Francisco Chronicle, "Whales, orcas converge in Monterey Bay," 2 Apr. 2018 Among the lost so far this season: a 31-foot-long yearling gray whale that was hit by a ship and washed ashore on Thursday, dying hours later. — Anchorage Daily News, "Whale strandings off Washington-Oregon coast highest in nearly 2 decades," 3 July 2018 That includes 18,000 to 20,000 in the Pacific, plus 20,000 gray whales. — Tom Stienstra, SFChronicle.com, "Chart-buster times: salmon to whales, bears to bighorns," 8 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gray whale.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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