great white shark

noun

|Updated on: 15 Aug 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

There is one record of a great white shark caught in the central Bering Sea, in 1979, according to Alaska Sea Grant, and it was found to have chunks of Steller sea lion in its stomach.

— annie zak, Anchorage Daily News, "Research: Sharks might be eating more northern seals and sea lions in Alaska waters," 4 July 2018
In April 2008, a 66-year-old man training for a triathlon off the coast of Solana Beach was killed by what was believed to be a great white shark.

— gary warth, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Three possible shark sightings reported off Oceanside in past week," 3 July 2018
For starters, the Santa Barbara paddle boarder followed a great white shark .

— monique o. madan, miamiherald, "Watch this man follow a great white shark on his paddle board," 30 June 2018
On Monday, the first great white shark of the season was tagged a quarter-mile from the sands of Truro by state marine biologist Greg Skomal and his research partners from the AWSC.

— steve annear, BostonGlobe.com, "Drone video shows shark eating seal off Cape Cod beach," 13 July 2018
The No Swim ZonesSydney’s north shores are notorious for rips, strong currents, and the odd great white shark.

— erin florio, Condé Nast Traveler, "What to Do in Sydney: The Black Book," 5 July 2018
Visiting tourists or researchers often go underwater in protective metal cages to observe the hundreds of great white sharks that congregate in the area.

— rebecca robbins, STAT, "A daredevil researcher’s latest quest: to restore sight lost to glaucoma using virtual reality," 2 July 2018
The scientists had found the perfect place to conduct their research: Southeast Farallon Island, a remote outpost 30 miles due west of the Golden Gate Bridge, where each autumn a large population of great white sharks gather to hunt elephant seals.

— susan casey, Outside Online, "Susan Casey on Seeing Her First Great White Shark," 11 July 2018
The bull shark aircraft launched from Hobby Airport, the great white shark and hammerhead shark aircraft launched from Dallas, the tiger shark aircraft launched from Chicago and the mako shark aircraft launched from Phoenix.

— andrea leinfelder, Houston Chronicle, "Southwest planes get some teeth to honor Discovery Channel's Shark Week," 9 July 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