BLUE WHALE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does blue whale mean? 

• BLUE WHALE (noun)
  The noun BLUE WHALE has 1 sense:

1. largest mammal ever known; bluish-grey migratory whalebone whale mostly of southern hemisphere

  Familiarity information: BLUE WHALE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BLUE WHALE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Largest mammal ever known; bluish-grey migratory whalebone whale mostly of southern hemisphere

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

Balaenoptera musculus; blue whale; sulfur bottom

Hypernyms ("blue whale" is a kind of...):

baleen whale; whalebone whale (whale with plates of whalebone along the upper jaw for filtering plankton from the water)

Holonyms ("blue whale" is a member of...):

Balaenoptera; genus Balaenoptera (type genus of the Balaenopteridae)

 Context examples 

The blue whale, which is the largest species at 30 meters long, had a large presence on the Brazilian coast, but nowadays it is rarely sighted.

(Brazil to support South Atlantic whale sanctuary bid, Agência BRASIL)