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

Like right whales, before that analysis, researchers thought bowhead whales lived to about 80 years, and that humans were the mammals that lived the longest.

From Salon • Dec. 27, 2024

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

There's also concern that Indigenous harvests of bowhead whale could be impacted.

From Science Daily • Feb. 21, 2024

In the photo on the bottom left note the extremely long baleen plates, characteristic of bowhead and right whales.

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