gray whale

[grey hweyl, weyl]

noun

1. a grayish-black baleen whale, Eschrichtius robustus, of the North Pacific, growing to a length of 50 feet (15.2 meters): an endangered species.

Word History and Origins

Origin of gray whale¹

First recorded in 1830–35

Example Sentences

A minke whale in Long Beach Harbor and a gray whale stranded on Huntington City Beach also succumbed to the outbreak.

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A minke whale in Long Beach Harbor and a gray whale that stranded in Huntington Beach also succumbed to the outbreak.

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A 40-ton gray whale surfaced beside me — spy-hopping, they call it — her towering grace lifting from the water, close enough that I could see the walnut shine of her left eye.

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Last week, a dead gray whale was also found washed ashore on Huntington Beach.

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A dead 50-foot gray whale washed ashore in Huntington Beach on Friday, according to officials with the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.

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