minke whale

British

/ ˈmɪŋkə /

noun

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.

The crew also find comfort in the wonders of the ocean - dolphins and flying fish, and one night an encounter with a pod of friendly minke whales, swimming in bio-luminescent water.

From BBC

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

From Los Angeles Times

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

The 24-foot-long minke whale was swimming in the harbor for several days and officials had tried to push it out to sea, only for it to come back, Milstein said.

From Los Angeles Times

Despite recent efforts by marine wildlife experts to reroute the animal to deeper waters, the minke whale was found dead on Sunday, officials confirmed.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023