Meaning & use
blue whale
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Meanings
nouncountable
A very large whale with a bluish-gray body, the largest animal on Earth.
Grammar: Countable: a blue whale, two blue whales.
Patterns
- a blue whale
- blue whales
The blue whale can grow up to 30 meters long.
We went on a boat trip to see a blue whale in the wild.
Blue whales feed mainly on tiny shrimp-like animals called krill.
nouncountablefigurative
Something that is extremely large or impressive, used figuratively.
Grammar: Often used in similes or metaphors, e.g. 'a blue whale of a problem'.
Patterns
- a blue whale of a something
The new stadium is a blue whale of a building.
Their debt was a blue whale that threatened to sink the company.
Word forms
| plural | blue whales |
|---|
Common combinations
- giant blue whale
- The museum has a model of a giant blue whale.
- blue whale population
- Conservation efforts have helped the blue whale population recover slightly.
- see a blue whale
- If you're lucky, you can see a blue whale from the coast.
- blue whale song
- The blue whale song can travel for miles underwater.
Synonyms and how they differ
- whale
- A general term for any large marine mammal; 'blue whale' is a specific kind.
- rorqual
- A technical term for a family of whales that includes the blue whale.
Word family
Commonly confused: blue whale or sperm whale?
blue whale vs sperm whale
Another large whale, but with a different shape and color; not the same species.
Practice
The blue whale is the largest animal ___.
Choose one answer.
The phrase 'in the world' is the standard way to say something is the biggest of its kind globally. 'Of the world' is not used in this pattern. 'On world' and 'at the world' are not grammatical here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “blue whale”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.