great white shark

noun

: a large mackerel shark (Carcharodon carcharias) of warm seas that is bluish when young but becomes whitish with age and has been known to attack humans

called also white shark

see shark illustration

Examples of great white shark in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

All that changed on Wednesday morning — when a massive great white shark splashed him with its tail in the waters off Oceano, on California’s Central Coast. — Stephanie Zappelli, Sacbee.com, 29 Oct. 2026

As the Orange County whale watchers were enjoying their unusual brush with warm-water orcas, a kayaker to the north had a brush with a great white shark. — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026

Another fisherman, David Zamora, reported a similar encounter near Cambria in 2019, when a roughly 10-foot great white shark bit his kayak about two miles offshore from Leffingwell Landing, according to local news outlet KSBY. — Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2026

His drone is locked onto a great white shark, filming the apex predator’s every move. — Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 3 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1774, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for great white shark

• arc
• ark
• bark
• barque
• dark
• hark
• lark
• marc
• mark
• marque
• narc
• quark

Kids Definition

great white shark

noun

: a large and dangerous shark of warm seas that is quick to attack human beings and is bluish when young but becomes whitish with age

Medical Definition

great white shark

noun

: a large shark (Carcharodon carcharias of the family Lamnidae) that is bluish when young but becomes whitish with age and has been known to attack humans

called also white shark