cetacean

noun

ce·​ta·​cean si-ˈtā-shən 

: any of an order (Cetacea) of aquatic mostly marine mammals that includes the whales, dolphins, porpoises, and related forms and that have a torpedo-shaped nearly hairless body, paddle-shaped forelimbs but no hind limbs, one or two nares opening externally at the top of the head, and a horizontally flattened tail used for locomotion

cetacean adjective

cetaceous

si-ˈtā-shəs 

adjective

Examples of cetacean in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

So have several cetaceans—most famously, an orca known as Tahlequah, who, without the primate’s advantage of hands, carried her deceased infant on her back continuously for weeks, across more than a thousand miles of the Salish Sea. —Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024

Studying dolphin breath Scientists studying marine mammals and microplastic consumption have long speculated that inhalation was a way in which cetaceans could acquire microplastics in their bodies, similar to how humans have also been found to breathe in the small particles. —Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 17 Oct. 2024

That’s because these blue whale bones are still leaking oil, despite the cetacean being dead for over two decades. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 Oct. 2024

However, it’s been easier to show that a whale is making a call than to prove the recipient is a fellow cetacean hundreds of miles away, says Susan Parks, a behavioral ecologist at Syracuse University in New York who studies animal acoustics. —Joanna Thompson, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

ultimately from Latin cetus whale, from Greek kētos

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

cetacean

noun

ce·​ta·​cean si-ˈtā-shən 

: any of an order of aquatic mammals (as a whale, dolphin, or porpoise)

cetacean adjective