Illustration of sperm whale
sperm whale
noun
ˈspərm- 
: a very large toothed whale (Physeter macrocephalus synonym P. catodon) that has large conical teeth in the lower jaw, a single blowhole, and a massive squarish head with a closed cavity containing a fluid mixture of spermaceti and oil, and that may reach a length in the male of nearly 60 feet (18.3 meters)
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Ship strikes are responsible for more than half of all sperm whale deaths in the area. 
Claudia Geib, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Aug. 2022 Leonard’s sculpture, a ghostly heap of hollow clay forms resembling sperm whale teeth, is a tribute to that history. New York Times, 3 July 2022 The snapping shrimp, aka the pistol shrimp, is one of the loudest creatures in the ocean, along with the sperm whale and beluga whale. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 12 July 2022 The group also was instrumental in the naming of the sperm whale as the state animal in 1975. Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 11 July 2022 Mesopelagic fish, squid and crustaceans turned up in the stomachs of tuna, swordfish and blue sharks, while sperm whale stomachs contained the indigestible beaks of deep-sea squid, including the giant squid Architeuthis. Stephanie Pain, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 June 2022 The brain of the sperm whale is the largest on Earth, at a hefty 20 pounds, while your three-pound brain is seven times as large as expected for the average human body. New York Times, 31 Mar. 2022 Female emperor moths emit pheromones that can be detected by males more than 15 kilometers away, which, correcting for size, is a distance comparable to the one traversed by even the most resonant sperm whale’s click. Justin E. H. Smith, Wired, 3 Mar. 2022 Or consider the clicks of a sperm whale, which, it is now thought, can sometimes be heard by familiars on the other side of the world. Justin E. H. Smith, Wired, 3 Mar. 2022 See More
Claudia Geib, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Aug. 2022 Leonard’s sculpture, a ghostly heap of hollow clay forms resembling sperm whale teeth, is a tribute to that history. New York Times, 3 July 2022 The snapping shrimp, aka the pistol shrimp, is one of the loudest creatures in the ocean, along with the sperm whale and beluga whale. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 12 July 2022 The group also was instrumental in the naming of the sperm whale as the state animal in 1975. Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 11 July 2022 Mesopelagic fish, squid and crustaceans turned up in the stomachs of tuna, swordfish and blue sharks, while sperm whale stomachs contained the indigestible beaks of deep-sea squid, including the giant squid Architeuthis. Stephanie Pain, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 June 2022 The brain of the sperm whale is the largest on Earth, at a hefty 20 pounds, while your three-pound brain is seven times as large as expected for the average human body. New York Times, 31 Mar. 2022 Female emperor moths emit pheromones that can be detected by males more than 15 kilometers away, which, correcting for size, is a distance comparable to the one traversed by even the most resonant sperm whale’s click. Justin E. H. Smith, Wired, 3 Mar. 2022 Or consider the clicks of a sperm whale, which, it is now thought, can sometimes be heard by familiars on the other side of the world. Justin E. H. Smith, Wired, 3 Mar. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
short for spermaceti whale
First Known Use
circa 1700, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
sperm whale
noun
: a huge whale with a large head having a closed cavity that contains a mixture of wax and oil