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

For comparison, great white sharks only catch their prey 50 percent of the time. — Rachel Sargent Mirus, Hartford Courant, 3 Aug. 2026

Researchers think that most bites are accidental; great white sharks mistake people for seals or sea lions. — Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2026

Fox's death has raised questions regarding the safety of the area, especially for those who swim inside Northern California’s infamous Red Triangle, one of the world’s most active great white shark zones. — Noe Padilla, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2026

Visitors are taken back in time to imagine how this now extinct creature — three times the size of a modern-day great white shark — used to swim right over the National Mall. — Amy Delaura, The Washington Examiner, 31 July 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