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minke whale

British  
/ ˈmɪŋkə /

noun

  1. Also called: minke.  a type of small whalebone whale or rorqual, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, up to 10 metres long

"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

Etymology

Origin of minke whale

C20: probably from Norwegian minkehval, from minke lesser + hval whale

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

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

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 5, 2025

A minke whale has beached and died at Portstewart Strand in County Londonderry.

From BBC May 26, 2025

Marine wildlife experts on Thursday attempted to help direct a young minke whale out of Long Beach Harbor where it has been swimming for the last few days, according to authorities.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 3, 2025

Joe Gaydos remembers the beautiful minke whale that washed up on the shore of a San Juan Island in 2022.

From Seattle Times Feb. 22, 2024

A minke whale nicknamed Snowy has set a European record for the number of years she has been seen.

From BBC Oct. 26, 2023

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