Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

great white shark

noun

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

See great white shark defined for kids

From the M-W Editors

one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots
The Exceptions Quiz III
alt-59e60c9d3e5ea
Trending: McCain: Half-Baked, 'Spurious' Nationalism
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
tycoon
17 English Words that Come From Japanese

First Known Use of great white shark

1774

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

Learn More about great white shark

  1. See words that rhyme with great white shark Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about great white shark

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up great white shark? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

hew

play

to conform or adhere

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. spurious of a deceitful nature or quality

  2. righteous We provide an assortment of definitions

  3. Kafkaesque 'A nightmarish quality'

  4. mike "microphone"

  5. moron “a very stupid person”

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Test Your Vocabulary

The Exceptions Quiz III

  • one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots
  • Which of these words does not mean "nonsense"?
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59e77dc36c593
The Origins of 'Lobbyist'

From the front hallways to the back rooms

alt-59e673567065d
The History of the Word 'Terrorism'

Noah Webster first entered the term in 1840

alt-59e65152518a6
'Regimen' vs. 'Regiment'

The rule of thumb for words about rules

alt-59e50f5a357b4
'Spox' May Go On The Record

From newsroom lingo to the mainstream

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots
The Exceptions Quiz III

Which of these things doesn't belong?

Take the quiz
knupfer-painting-solon-before-croesus
Forms of Government Quiz

Name that government! Or something like that.

Take the quiz
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game