humpback whale

noun

: a large baleen whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) that is black above and white below and has very long flippers and fleshy tubercles along the snout

Illustration of humpback whale

Examples of humpback whale in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With an ecosystem as capricious as this, the local wildlife is born and bred to go with the flow—think gentle-but-giant humpback whales, colonies of industrious beavers, and torpedoing peregrine falcons, the fastest animals on Earth. — Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Aug. 2026

More than that, the park’s grounds and waters are home to black and brown bears, moose, seals, puffins, otters, and, particularly in the summer, humpback whales and orcas. — Cailey Rizzo, Travel + Leisure, 2 Aug. 2026

For the first time, the birth of a humpback whale was captured via drone earlier this week. — Lucia I Suarez Sang, CBS News, 31 July 2026

The incredible footage came as the team observed Australia’s annual humpback whale migration, when about 50,000 whales travel along the country’s east coast. — Adam England, PEOPLE, 31 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1726, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for humpback whale

• abigail
• cottontail
• countervail
• fingernail
• martingale
• mesoscale
• microscale
• monorail
• nanoscale
• ponytail
• swallowtail
• wensleydale

Kids Definition

humpback whale

noun

: a large baleen whale that is black above and white below and has very long flippers