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.

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

From BBC • May 26, 2025

Earlier this month, a minke whale that spent days swimming in Long Beach Harbor died — despite efforts by marine wildlife experts to reroute it back to deeper waters.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2025

A minke whale that spent the last week swimming in Long Beach Harbor despite efforts by marine wildlife experts to reroute it back to deeper waters died this weekend, officials confirmed.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 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 has been spotted leaping from the water off Scarborough, amazing those lucky enough to see it.

From BBC • Jun. 27, 2023

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