great white shark

noun

|Updated on: 20 Jun 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

Australian waters also have the three shark species that account for the majority of fatal shark attacks: tiger sharks, bull sharks, and great white sharks.

— jeremy hsu, The Atlantic, "Can AI Stop Shark Attacks?," 31 Mar. 2018
The sort of tumor found in a great white shark turns out to have been reported in sharks for decades.

— andrew karam, Popular Mechanics, "Five Years Later, Cutting Through the Fukushima Myths," 11 Mar. 2016
Jaws Year after year, Southerners flock to the shores once summer hits; and nothing will get you in the summertime spirit quite like this thriller about a beach town that’s dealing with a bit of a giant man-eating great white shark problem.

— kaitlyn yarborough, Southern Living, "The Best Summer Movies of All Time," 12 June 2018
Sharks in the Water In recent years, great white shark sightings have increased off the coast of Southern California.

— sarah gibbens, National Geographic, "What's Killing the West Coast's Young Great White Sharks?," 9 May 2018
There is one difference between humans and great white sharks — well, there’s more than one — and that is the duration of the season.

— john r. ellement, BostonGlobe.com, "Great white sharks may be lurking off Mass.," 25 May 2018
Though only a glimpse of its tail can be seen near the end of the video, there does indeed appear to be an adolescent great white shark (Van Sommeran estimates 9 feet in length) swimming near his boat and the deer.

— michael mcgough, sacbee, "A deer is seen swimming in Santa Cruz. Great white sharks lurk nearby, researcher says | The Sacramento Bee," 11 May 2018
The Shallows’ starred Blake Lively as a surfer who battles a great white shark.

— ellen gamerman, WSJ, "It Wouldn’t Be Summer Without a Shark Movie," 10 May 2018
Chip Michalove, owner of Outcast Sport Fishing, tagged a 10-foot great white shark off the coast of Hilton Head Island, S.C., in December.

— mark price, charlotteobserver, "Tourists stunned as 5-foot shark hunts for food just feet off popular NC beach | Charlotte Observer," 8 May 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