great white shark

noun

: a large mackerel shark (Carcharodon carcharias) of warm seas that is bluish when young but becomes whitish with age and has been known to attack humans

called also white shark

see shark illustration

Examples of great white shark in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In January, a 10-foot tagged great white shark named Crystal pinged off the Sarasota coast after pinging off Pensacola in December. —Jon Chapman, Miami Herald, 18 Feb. 2025

Nature: Canadian and American scientists are trying to figure out what’s causing the brain swelling that’s been linked to great white shark deaths. —Natasha Frost, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2025

Great White Shark video:Footage shows gigantic 1,653-pound great white shark tagged near Florida-Georgia coast The hospital did not immediately respond to request for comment on the mom and baby girl's conditions. —Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2025

Shark trackers recently reported that a 1,400-pound, 13-foot great white shark pinged off a Florida beach four times in one day. —Alexandra Koch, Fox News, 12 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1774, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for great white shark

• arc
• ark
• bark
• barque
• dark
• hark
• lark
• marc
• mark
• marque
• narc
• quark

Kids Definition

great white shark

noun

: a large and dangerous shark of warm seas that is quick to attack human beings and is bluish when young but becomes whitish with age

Medical Definition

great white shark

noun

: a large shark (Carcharodon carcharias of the family Lamnidae) that is bluish when young but becomes whitish with age and has been known to attack humans

called also white shark