sperm whale

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noun

a large, square-snouted whale, Physeter catodon, valued for its oil and spermaceti: now reduced in number and rare in some areas.

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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

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Origin of sperm whale

First recorded in 1825–35

Words nearby sperm whale

spermophyte, spermotoxic, spermotoxin, spermous, sperm washing, sperm whale, Sperrin Mountains, Sperry, sperrylite, spessartite, speug

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sperm whale in a sentence

When you have a sperm whale 20 feet in front of you and it’s echolocating on you, you feel it.
The Witness Is a Whale - Issue 107: The Edge|Diana Reiss|September 29, 2021|Nautilus
Working within those constraints, let us imagine a conversation between you and a sperm whale that you’ve been following around and hanging out with for a couple of years.
No Species Is an Island - Issue 105: Whale Songs|Roger Payne|September 8, 2021|Nautilus
“About 20 years ago, it came to us that culture—in the sense of what they’re learning from each other—is very important for sperm whales,” Whitehead says.
Sperm whales have a surprisingly deep—and useful—culture|Ellie Shechet|March 19, 2021|Popular-Science
For example, Palacios recalls, after two weeks of tailing sperm whales with underwater microphones during a research trip in the Galapagos Islands, “I think they finally had it with us.”
Sperm whales have a surprisingly deep—and useful—culture|Ellie Shechet|March 19, 2021|Popular-Science

After the 45-foot-long carcass of a sperm whale washed up on a town beach, the Oregon Highway Division decided to blast it to smithereens with a half-ton of dynamite.
Remembering one of history’s greatest whale explosions|Sara Kiley Watson|November 16, 2020|Popular-Science
In the case of a small Sperm Whale the brains are accounted a fine dish.
Moby Dick; or The Whale|Herman Melville
The Sperm Whale blows as a clock ticks, with the same undeviating and reliable uniformity.
Moby Dick; or The Whale|Herman Melville
In life, the visible surface of the Sperm Whale is not the least among the many marvels he presents.
Moby Dick; or The Whale|Herman Melville
It must be borne in mind that all this time we have a Sperm Whale's prodigious head hanging to the Pequod's side.
Moby Dick; or The Whale|Herman Melville
Nor in the Sperm Whale are there any of those blinds of bone; no huge lower lip; and scarcely anything of a tongue.
Moby Dick; or The Whale|Herman Melville

British Dictionary definitions for sperm whale

sperm whale

noun

a large toothed whale, Physeter catodon, having a square-shaped head and hunted for sperm oil, spermaceti, and ambergris: family PhyseteridaeAlso called: cachalot

Word Origin for sperm whale

C19: short for spermaceti whale

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