noun

• A large rorqual with a small dorsal fin, a dark grey back, and white underparts.

  Also called finback, "common rorqual"

  Balaenoptera physalus, family Balaenopteridae

  ‘And farther down the coast, just south of the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, whale-watchers spotted a fin whale - the first such sighting in over a hundred years.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘An adult fin whale may consume one to one and a half metric tons of food per day, feeding mainly on krill and occasionally herring.’
  • ‘After the biggest whales were hunted to the point that they were too hard to find, the whalers went on to the next largest species, the fin whale.’
  • ‘Recently they've had very close views of fin whales which, after the blue whale, are the largest animal that's ever lived.’
  • ‘Scientists have always wondered about the booming melodies sung by endangered fin whales.’