sperm whale

noun

1. a large, square-snouted whale, Physeter catodon, valued for its oil and spermaceti: now reduced in number and rare in some areas.

sperm whale

noun

1. a large toothed whale, Physeter catodon, having a square-shaped head and hunted for sperm oil, spermaceti, and ambergris: family Physeteridae Also calledcachalot

Word History and Origins

Origin of sperm whale¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Word History and Origins

Origin of sperm whale¹

C19: short for spermaceti whale

Example Sentences

When you have a sperm whale 20 feet in front of you and it’s echolocating on you, you feel it.

From Nautilus

Working within those constraints, let us imagine a conversation between you and a sperm whale that you’ve been following around and hanging out with for a couple of years.

From Nautilus

“About 20 years ago, it came to us that culture—in the sense of what they’re learning from each other—is very important for sperm whales,” Whitehead says.

From Popular-Science

For example, Palacios recalls, after two weeks of tailing sperm whales with underwater microphones during a research trip in the Galapagos Islands, “I think they finally had it with us.”

From Popular-Science

After the 45-foot-long carcass of a sperm whale washed up on a town beach, the Oregon Highway Division decided to blast it to smithereens with a half-ton of dynamite.

From Popular-Science

In the case of a small Sperm Whale the brains are accounted a fine dish.

From Project Gutenberg

The Sperm Whale blows as a clock ticks, with the same undeviating and reliable uniformity.

From Project Gutenberg

In life, the visible surface of the Sperm Whale is not the least among the many marvels he presents.

From Project Gutenberg

It must be borne in mind that all this time we have a Sperm Whale's prodigious head hanging to the Pequod's side.

From Project Gutenberg

Nor in the Sperm Whale are there any of those blinds of bone; no huge lower lip; and scarcely anything of a tongue.

From Project Gutenberg