bowhead

[ boh-hed ]

/ ˈboʊˌhɛd /

Save This Word!

noun

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

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Also called Green·land whale.

Origin of bowhead

First recorded in 1885–90; bow² + head

Words nearby bowhead

bowery, bowfin, bow front, bowgrace, bow hand, bowhead, bowhunting, Bowie, bowie knife, Bowie State, bowing

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bowhead in a sentence

Greenland sharks, Galapagos tortoises, and bowhead whales mature late, and can live for centuries.
Future Evolution: How Will Humans Change in the Next 10,000 Years?|Nicholas R. Longrich|March 3, 2022|Singularity Hub
He started Bowhead with a business partner in 2017 and began building the bikes to sell.
This Adaptive Mountain Bike Brings Freedom Back to Disabled Riders|cobrien|January 20, 2022|Outside Online
Bathsheba Demuth, an environmental historian at Brown University, was reading 19th century whalers’ logbooks on bowhead whales in the Bering Strait when she noticed a striking shift.
Sperm whales have a surprisingly deep—and useful—culture|Ellie Shechet|March 19, 2021|Popular-Science
Somewhat crestfallen, the striking pair repaired to the Bowhead saloon to discuss the situation over a glass of beer.
Captain Scraggs|Peter B. Kyne

McGuffey was willing so they left the bulkhead for the more convivial shelter of the Bowhead saloon.
Captain Scraggs|Peter B. Kyne
He went up to the Bowhead saloon, had a drink, leaned on the end of the bar and thought it over.
Captain Scraggs|Peter B. Kyne
Two of these, the bowhead or Greenland whale, and its more widely distributed close relative the right whale, are baleen whales.
Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Western North Atlantic|Stephen Leatherwood
The bowhead and right whales may be readily distinguished from one another by the characters listed below for stranded specimens.
Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Western North Atlantic|Stephen Leatherwood

British Dictionary definitions for bowhead

bowhead

/ (ˈbəʊˌhɛd) /

noun

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012