great white shark

noun

Updated on: 12 Apr 2018

Definition of great white shark

: 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

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Recent Examples of great white shark from the Web

Another was attacked by a great white shark in deep water.

— kimon de greef, New York Times, "Divers Risk Drowning and Sharks to Poach Abalone Worth $200 a Pound," 31 Mar. 2018
Having one great white shark show up off North Carolina is often news, but the state has had five show up, according to the shark tracking agency known as OSEARCH.

— mark price, charlotteobserver, "A shark party? 5th great white shark shows up off NC this week.," 16 Feb. 2018
Michalove works with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy in Chatham, Mass., where he’s teamed up with scientists to study the movement patterns of great white sharks.

— mark price, charlotteobserver, "12-foot-5 great white shark tracked off Hilton Head. It weighs 1,320 pounds. | Charlotte Observer," 12 Mar. 2018
But not all of us can dive 25 feet under the ocean surface, or swim alongside a great white shark like Werner once did.

— lale arikoglu, Condé Nast Traveler, "The Women at the Bottom of the Ocean," 8 Mar. 2018
George, a great white shark that was nearly 10 feet long and weighed more than 700 pounds when he was tagged a year ago off Nantucket, has paid a visit to Everglades National Park.

— jenny staletovich, miamiherald, "A great white shark has been spotted in the Everglades. His name is George," 5 Feb. 2018
The fifth joined the shark party Friday morning: A 5-foot-5 long great white named Bruin, which pinged on trackers at 6:48 a.m., says OSEARCH. 5ft baby great white shark @BruinTheShark pings off Kure Beach, NC!

— mark price, charlotteobserver, "A shark party? 5th great white shark shows up off NC this week.," 16 Feb. 2018
But like the fictitious star of the beach-clearing blockblusters, George the great white shark also lurks close to land.

— brett clarkson, Sun-Sentinel.com, "A great white shark named George is lingering at edge of the Everglades," 6 Feb. 2018
This great white shark circled Chip Michalove's boat for about 45 mins.

— lisa gutierrez, kansascity, "Trump’s fear and loathing of sharks gives the ‘Resistance’ a new icon," 23 Jan. 2018

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

First Known Use of great white shark

1774

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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Medical Dictionary

great white shark

noun

medical Definition of great white shark

: 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