gray whale

American  

[grey hweyl, weyl] / ˈgreɪ ˈʰweɪl, ˈweɪl /

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.

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Etymology

Origin of gray whale

First recorded in 1830–35

Example Sentences

That trouble becomes imminent for humans, too, when a 30-40 tonne gray whale begins floating in the bay, as happened earlier this year.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

San Francisco Bay was not historically part of the gray whale migration route.

From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2025

The researchers began to see the effects of that change in the ecosystem during their annual gray whale monitoring research in Port Orford.

From Science Daily • May 21, 2024

When Mom was fourteen years old, the Makah Nation hunted a gray whale.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day