any of the larger cetacean mammals having a streamlined body and breathing through a blowhole on the head
a large mammal that lives in the sea
a large marine mammal of the order cetacea
a very large and powerful animal
a warm-blooded mammal as we are
The general term applied to any large cetacean, and a specific one applied to certain smaller ones.
General name applied to any large cetacean and a specific name applied to certain smaller ones.
A large sea mammal that has smooth skin and breathes through a blowhole located on top of its head. The toothed whales, including sperm whales, orcas, dolphins and porpoises, have sharp teeth for catching fishes. The baleen whales, including the blue whale, gray whale and humpback, have flexible baleen fringes in their mouths for eating krill.
The term whale is ambiguous; it can refer to all cetaceans, to just the larger ones, or only to members of particular families within the order Cetacea. The last definition is the one followed here. Whales are those cetaceans which are neither dolphins (i.e. members of the families Delphinidae or Platanistoidea) nor porpoises.