bowhead

American  

[boh-hed] / ˈboʊˌhɛd /

noun

1. a baleen whale, Balaena mysticetus, of northern seas, having an enormous head and mouth: an endangered species.

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bowhead British  

/ ˈbəʊˌhɛd /

noun

1. a large-mouthed arctic whale, Balaena mysticetus , that has become rare through overfishing but is now a protected species

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Etymology

Origin of bowhead

First recorded in 1885–90; bow ² + head

Example Sentences

Other whale species include North Pacific gray whales, the North Atlantic right whale, minke, sperm, fin and bowhead whales.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 25, 2025

Scientists currently assume they live about 80 or 90 years, but that’s what we believed about bowhead and right whales until data proved they can live much longer.

From Salon • Dec. 27, 2024

Twenty-five years ago, scientists working with Indigenous whale hunters in the Arctic showed that bowhead whales could live up to and even over 200 years.

From Salon • Dec. 27, 2024

Shipping in the western Chukchi Sea has increased about 13% since 2009; however, there hasn't yet been an increase in bowhead ship-strikes "that we know of," she emphasized.

From Science Daily • Feb. 21, 2024

It was on the ninth or tenth morning after our arrival on the grounds that a bowhead was raised, And two boats sent after him.

From The Cruise of the Cachalot Round the World After Sperm Whales by Bullen, Frank T.