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

Last year, September had the second most shark detections off the Cape — with 44,662 great white shark detections, according to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Logbook. —Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 16 Sep. 2025

Researchers said the behavior exhibited by two Carcharodon carcharias, also known as great white sharks, was previously unknown. —Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 12 Sep. 2025

During the tour, the group came across not just a whale carcass, but also a great white shark who'd made a rare excursion to the surface to feed on it. —Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025

The sunbathers of sleepy Amity Bay are helpless against the unexpected great white shark that hunts their coasts; Spielberg’s talent for suspense, effective horror shocks, and ingenious reinvention of the classic animal-attack movie remain as impressive as ever. —Christina Newland, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025

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