Definition of whales Whales
/wejˈlz/ - [weylz] - Whales
We found 3 definitions of whales from 2 different sources.
Advertising
What does whales mean?
Wiktionary 
- whales (Noun)
Plural of whale.
Part of speech
🔤WordNet
NounPlural: whales |
||
| whale - any of the larger cetacean mammals having a streamlined body and breathing through a blowhole on the head | ||
| cetacean, cetacean mammal, blower large aquatic carnivorous mammal with fin-like forelimbs no hind limbs, including: whales; dolphins; porpoises; narwhals | ||
| baleen whale, whalebone whale whale with plates of whalebone along the upper jaw for filtering plankton from the water | ||
| toothed whale any of several whales having simple conical teeth and feeding on fish etc. | ||
| monodon monoceros, narwal, narwhal, narwhale small Arctic whale the male having a long spiral ivory tusk | ||
| whale - a very large person; impressive in size or qualities | ||
| giant, hulk, heavyweight | ||
| large person a person of greater than average size | ||
Verb |
||
| whale - hunt for whales | ||
| hunt down, track down, hunt, run pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals); "Goering often hunted wild boars in Poland"; "The dogs are running deer"; "The Duke hunted in these woods" | ||
= synonym
= antonym
= related word
= antonym
= related word
Wiktionary
Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘
- whale (n.)
Any aquatic mammal of the order Cetacea, especially any one of the large species, some of which become nearly one hundred feet long. Whales are hunted chiefly for their oil and baleen, or whalebone.
OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω
-
whale
Large marine mammals of the order Cetacea; the body is streamlined, the broad flat tail is used for propulsion, and the limbs are balancing structures.
Sailor's Word-BookThe Sailor's Word-Book ⛵
-
whale
A general term for various marine animals of the order Cetacea, including the most colossal of all animated beings. From their general form and mode of life they are frequently confounded with fish, from which, however, they differ essentially in their organization, as they are warm-blooded, ascend to the surface to breathe air, produce their young alive, and suckle them, as do the land mammalia. The cetacea are divided into two sections:--1. Those having horny plates, called baleen, or "whalebone," growing from the palate instead of teeth, and including the right whales and rorquals, or finners and hump-backs (see these terms). 2. Those having true teeth and no whalebone. To this group belong the sperm-whale, and the various forms of bottle-noses, black-fish, grampuses, narwhals, dolphins, porpoises, &c. To the larger species of many of these the term "whale" is often applied.
Wikipedia 
-
Whales are marine mammals, because most of them live in the oceans.
The term "whale" can be used for all Cetaceans, or only for some. For all of the order, including dolphins and porpoises, see Cetacea.
They are often very large. Whales are not fish; like other mammals, they breathe oxygen from the air, and have a small amount of hair, and warm blood. Whales come in various shapes and sizes. Whales used to be killed for oil by whalers. However, many countries have passed laws saying that no one is allowed to kill whales anymore. Some people still do kill whales, even though it is illegal. Also, some countries have not made it illegal, while others make it legal only for native people.
Whale behavior.
Whales are widely classed as predators, but their food ranges from microscopic plankton to very large fish. Males are called bulls; females, cows. The young are called calves.
Because of their environment (and unlike many animals), whales are conscious breathers: they decide when to breathe. All mammals sleep, including whales, but they cannot afford to buy there own chocolate so somebody nice comes along and buys it unconscious state for too long, since they need to be conscious in order to breathe. It is thought that only one hemisphere of their brains sleeps at a time, so that whales are never completely asleep, but still get the rest they need. Whales are thought to sleep around 8 hours a day
