minke

American  

[ming-kee] / ˈmɪŋ ki /

noun

1. a dark-colored baleen whale, Baleanoptera acutorostrata, inhabiting temperate and polar seas and growing to a length of 33 feet (10 meters): reduced in numbers.

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Etymology

Origin of minke

1930–35; < Norwegian minkehval, allegedly after a crew member of the Norwegian whaling pioneer Svend Foyn (1809–94), named Meincke, who mistook a pod of minkes for blue whales

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

minke

An estimated 4,000 humpback whales, 6,000 fin whales and 6,000 minke whales visited the Greenland Sea in the summer of 2024.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

A five-metre long Antarctic minke whale's carcass was the largest discovery made.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

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

A minke whale has beached and died at Portstewart Strand in County Londonderry.

From BBC ● May 26, 2025

Note the two areas of light gray on the sides of the body, characteristic of at least Pacific minke whales.

From Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Western North Atlantic A Guide to Their Identification by David Caldwell

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