minke whale

noun

min·​ke whale ˈmiŋ-kə- 

variants or less commonly minke

: a small gray to black baleen whale (genus Balaenoptera) with a whitish underside and a relatively narrow, pointed snout:

a

: one (B. acutorostrata) chiefly of the northern hemisphere

called also common minke whale, northern minke whale

b

: one (B. bonaerensis) of the southern hemisphere that was formerly classified in the same species as the northern form

called also Antarctic minke, southern minke whale

see rorqual

Illustration of minke whale

Examples of minke whale in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Last weekend, a minke whale was found dead in Long Beach’s Rainbow Harbor. —Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 12 Apr. 2025

Earlier this month, a minke whale that spent days swimming in Long Beach Harbor died — despite efforts by marine wildlife experts to reroute it back to deeper waters. —Melody Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2025

Without the recognition that whales are artiodactyls, the relevance of those ancient, hoofed creatures to the origin of whales would have been entirely missed and paleontologists would still be wondering where orcas and minke whales came from. —Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Apr. 2025

In 2024, Alex Dawson was named overall winner for his image of minke whale bones in shallow waters off eastern Greenland. —Jack Guy, CNN, 21 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

partial translation of Norwegian minkehval, from minke- (perhaps from Meincke, a crewman of Svend Foyn †1894 Norwegian whaler) + hval whale

First Known Use

1939, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for minke whale

• abigail
• cottontail
• countervail
• fingernail
• martingale
• mesoscale
• microscale
• monorail
• nanoscale
• ponytail
• swallowtail
• wensleydale