[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/whale.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / whale

[← W](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/W/)

# whale

«whale» in Mova's school dictionary: **a very large animal that lives in the sea, looks like a…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (whale, whales)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A whale is a very large animal that lives in the sea, looks like a fish, but is a mammal and breathes air. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whale/#m1)

2) «A whale of a time» means a really great, fun time. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whale/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons whales are mammals: they breathe air through a blowhole, are warm-blooded and feed their babies (calves) on milk. The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived. Some whales eat tiny krill, others eat fish and squid. Whale watching is popular in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. Phrases: blue whale, killer whale, humpback whale, whale song, a whale of a time.

### examples

- A whale is a mammal, not a fish. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whale/#x1)
- The blue whale is the biggest animal on Earth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whale/#x2)
- We saw a whale spout water from its blowhole. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whale/#x3)
- Humpback whales sing long songs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whale/#x4)
- A baby whale is called a calf. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whale/#x5)
- Killer whales hunt in groups. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whale/#x6)
- Whales must come up to the surface to breathe. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whale/#x7)
- We had a whale of a time at the party. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whale/#x8)
- A great whale came and swallowed her. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whale/#x9)

### note

Countable noun (whales); a group can be called a pod. Trap: whales live in the sea but are NOT fish — they breathe air with lungs, not gills. A killer whale (orca) is actually a kind of dolphin. Do not confuse «whale» with «wail» (a long cry) — they sound the same.

### In the corpora

- [Whales are mammals: they breathe air, are warm-blooded, give birth to live young and feed them milk.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/26-whales/6/)
- [Whales breathe through a blowhole on top of the head, and the spout is warm wet breath forming a cloud of mist.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/26-whales/7/)
- [Breaching means leaping out of the water; scientists think whales do it to signal, show off or knock off skin pests.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/26-whales/12/)
- [Whale poo spreads nutrients that feed plankton, and plankton makes much of Earth's oxygen.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/26-whales/17/)
- [Dolphins ride the waves made by boats and whales, which saves energy and seems to be fun for them.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/27-dolphins-porpoises-and-seals/8/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «whale» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/whale/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.