sperm whale
noun
a large, square-snouted whale, Physeter catodon, valued for its oil and spermaceti: now reduced in number and rare in some areas.
sperm whales
-
pluralof sperm whale.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
Because pygmy sperm whales are so difficult to study at sea, researchers still do not know how widespread the newly identified bacteria may be or how much they affect the animals over time.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
Reports of sperm whales using their heads to strike objects date back to open-boat whaling in the 19th century.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 23, 2026
The researchers used drones carrying sterile petri dishes to capture droplets from the exhaled breath of humpback, fin and sperm whales, combined with skin biopsies taken from boats.
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2025
The scientists said deep divers, such as sperm whales, and pelagic dolphins showed a steadier increase in strandings since the 1990s.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2025
They were sought because in addition to whale oil produced from the body blubber, the forehead of the species yielded quantities of spermaceti like that obtained from sperm whales.
From Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Western North Atlantic A Guide to Their Identification by David Caldwell
