humpback
Americannoun
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another word for hunchback
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Also called: humpback whale. a large whalebone whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, closely related and similar to the rorquals but with a humped back and long flippers: family Balaenopteridae
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a Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, the male of which has a humped back and hooked jaws
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Also called: humpback bridge. a road bridge having a sharp incline and decline and usually a narrow roadway
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of humpback
First recorded in 1690–1700; apparently back formation from humpbacked
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 report from Earthjustice estimates that expanded oil drilling in California could threaten five marine species including humpback whales, sea otters, leatherback sea turtles, marbled murrelets and wild salmon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
They say the barriers kill local endangered species like the Indian Ocean humpback dolphin and the leatherback turtle, and they’re not that good at keeping out sharks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
They "may even carry new song styles from one region to another –- humpback whale songs are known to spread culturally across ocean basins, much like music trends in human populations".
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
Danish environment officials are planning to remove the carcass of a humpback whale from the island of Anholt, as concerns are raised of a potential health risk.
From BBC ● May 20, 2026
Arion jumped over a breaching humpback whale and kept galloping, startling a pack of seals off an iceberg.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
The scientists suggested several theories for why these two humpbacks embarked on such "exceptional" deviations from the normal routes.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
Humans once hunted humpbacks to the edge of extinction, but their numbers have rebounded in recent decades.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
Whale breath collected by drones is giving clues to the health of wild humpbacks and other whales.
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2025
The humpbacks started popping up recently, following massive schools of anchovies, a typical food source.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2024
“Those are the humpbacks after herring. They’re following their instincts. Every spring they migrate up from calving grounds in Hawaii.”
From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
