beluga

American  

[buh-loo-guh] / bəˈlu gə /

noun

1. Also called hausen.  a white sturgeon, Huso huso, of the Black and Caspian seas, valued as a source of caviar and isinglass.

2. Also called sea canary, white whale.  a cetacean, Delphinapterus leucas, of northern seas, that has a rounded head and is white when adult.

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beluga British  

/ bɪˈluːɡə /

noun

1. a large white sturgeon, Acipenser (or Huso ) huso , of the Black and Caspian Seas: a source of caviar and isinglass

2. another name for white whale

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Etymology

Origin of beluga

1585–95; < Russian belúga (now regularly belúkha for the cetacean), equivalent to bél ( yĭ ) white + -uga, probably earlier *-ǫga (compare Czech pstruh, Polish pstrąg trout < *pĭstr- mottled + *-ǫgŭ a cognate suffix)

Example Sentences

This includes unconventional cargo, such as a 7-foot beluga whale in an open tank.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

Canada's federal government on Monday gave Marineland conditional approval to sell its 30 imperilled beluga whales to parks in the United States, after rejecting an export request to China.

From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026

Marine animals face similar challenges: beluga whales have documented gastrointestinal cancers, while farmed Atlantic salmon experience cardiomyopathy syndrome.

From Science Daily • Nov. 17, 2025

Consider caviar: while Baerii caviar costs around 1,600 euros per kilogram, Almas caviar – a rare delicacy from albino beluga sturgeon – can exceed 30,000 euros per kilogram.

From Salon • Jan. 7, 2025

“So over here is the cold-water experience, with your penguins and beluga whales and whatnot. And over there...well, those are some fish, obviously.”

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• mammal
• porpoise