minke whale

noun

min·​ke whale ˈmiŋ-kə- 

variants or less commonly minke

: a small gray to black baleen whale (genus Balaenoptera) with a whitish underside and a relatively narrow, pointed snout:

a

: one (B. acutorostrata) chiefly of the northern hemisphere

called also common minke whale, northern minke whale

b

: one (B. bonaerensis) of the southern hemisphere that was formerly classified in the same species as the northern form

called also Antarctic minke, southern minke whale

see rorqual

Illustration of minke whale

Examples of minke whale in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Remains of woolly mammoths thought to be the last of their species, housed in the University of Alaska Museum of the North, are in fact the remains of a North Pacific right whale and a minke whale. —Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026

May to October is the prime time to witness humpbacks, blue whales, and minke whales. —Chantelle Kincy, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026

My accommodation, Lizard Island Resort, a remote property on the reef’s northern fringes, put me right near the path of the dwarf minke whale migration. —Stephanie Vermillion, Vogue, 26 Nov. 2025

Musk oxen can be shot from snowmobiles, narwhals and minke whales from speedboats. —Ben Taub, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

partial translation of Norwegian minkehval, from minke- (perhaps from Meincke, a crewman of Svend Foyn †1894 Norwegian whaler) + hval whale

First Known Use

1939, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for minke whale

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