Adjacent Words

cetacean definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: of or relating to whales and dolphins etc [syn: cetacean, cetaceous] n
1: large aquatic carnivorous mammal with fin-like forelimbs no hind limbs, including: whales; dolphins; porpoises; narwhals [syn: cetacean, cetacean mammal, blower]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: ultimately from Latin cetus whale, from Greek k?tos Date: 1835 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 adjective

Britannica Concise

Any of several species of exclusively aquatic placental mammals constituting the order Cetacea, found in oceans worldwide and in some freshwater environments. Modern cetaceans are grouped in two suborders: about 70 species of toothed whales (Odontoceti) and 13 species of toothless baleen whales (Mysticeti). They have a tapered body, no external hind limbs, and a tail ending in a horizontal blade of two lobes, or flukes. Cetaceans must come to the water's surface to breathe through blowholes located on top of their head. See also whale.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. any marine mammal of the order Cetacea with streamlined hairless body and dorsal blowhole for breathing, including whales, dolphins, and porpoises. --adj. of cetaceans. Derivatives: cetaceous adj. Etymology: mod.L Cetacea f. L cetus f. Gk ketos whale

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cetacean Ce*ta"cean, n. (Zo["o]l.) One of the Cetacea.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(cetaceans) Cetaceans are animals such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. N-COUNT: usu pl

Moby Thesaurus

Loch Ness monster, alevin, baleen whale, beluga, benthon, benthos, blackfish, blue whale, cachalot, dolphin, finback, fingerling, fish, fry, game fish, grilse, humpback, killer, killer whale, kipper, man-eater, man-eating shark, marine animal, minnow, minny, narwhal, nekton, panfish, plankton, porpoise, salmon, sea monster, sea pig, sea serpent, sea snake, shark, smolt, sperm whale, sponge, sulfur-bottom whale, tropical fish, whale