humpback

hump·back | \ ˈhəmp-ˌbak

How to pronounce humpback (audio)

, for sense 1 also -ˈbak \

Definition of humpback

1 : a humped or crooked back also : kyphosis

2 : hunchback sense 1

3 : humpback whale

4 : pink salmon

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Examples of humpback in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Every year between April and November, Australia's eastern coastline is full of migrating humpback whales; the animals spend their summers feeding in Antarctic waters, before migrating to sub-tropical waters to mate and give birth. — Jessie Yeung, CNN, "Humpback whale is free after swimming out of crocodile-infested river in Australia," 21 Sep. 2020 For years, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, also known as Chinese white dolphins and pink dolphins, had been avoiding the Pearl River Delta due to the area's high-speed ferries traveling between Hong Kong and Macau. — Eric Todisco, PEOPLE.com, "Rare Pink Dolphins Have Returned to Hong Kong Due to COVID-19 Lockdown Halting Ferry Traffic," 17 Sep. 2020 In a statement released on Sept. 11, the National Park said that three humpback whales had entered the river. — James Rogers, Fox News, "Humpback whales take 'wrong turn' and enter crocodile-infested river," 14 Sep. 2020 Several humpback whales swam into an Australian river filled with crocodiles earlier this month, and scientists fear one whale may not be able to leave. — Cailey Rizzo, Travel + Leisure, "No One Knows How This Humpback Whale Got Stranded in Australia’s Alligator River," 14 Sep. 2020 Giggs reports of her own encounter with the dying humpback. — Richard Schiffman, Washington Post, "The mysterious lives and enduring allure of whales," 4 Sep. 2020 Between 1959 and 1961, Soviet ships harvested nearly twenty-five thousand humpback whales in the Antarctic. — Amia Srinivasan, The New Yorker, "What Have We Done to the Whale?," 17 Aug. 2020 These trips provide the best chance for sightings of humpback whales and feeding shorebirds at the Southeast Farallon Islands. — Tom Stienstra, SFChronicle.com, "Humpbacks appearing in droves off SF coast," 16 Aug. 2020 The Environmental Guard said the humpback calf was about 2 years old. — Fox News, "Brazil beachgoers rescue stranded humpback whale calf," 10 Aug. 2020

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

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Dictionary Entries near humpback

humpbacked whitefish

Statistics for humpback

Last Updated

30 Sep 2020

Cite this Entry

“Humpback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humpback. Accessed 23 Oct. 2020.

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