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Synonyms

baleen

American  
[buh-leen] / bəˈlin /

noun

  1. an elastic, horny substance growing in place of teeth in the upper jaw of certain whales, and forming a series of thin, parallel plates on each side of the palate; whalebone.

baleen British  
/ bəˈliːn /

noun

  1. whalebone

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
baleen Scientific  
/ bə-lēn′ /

  1. A flexible horny substance hanging in fringed plates from the upper jaw of baleen whales. It is used to strain plankton from seawater when feeding.

  2. Also called whalebone

Etymology

Origin of baleen

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English balene (from Anglo-French baleine, beleine, ) from Latin bal(l)ēna, variant of bal(l)aena “whale,” from an unidentified language, also the source of Greek phál(l)aina “whale”; replacing Middle English balayn, Middle French balaine “whale(bone),” from Latin, as above

Vocabulary lists containing baleen

Marine Biology - Introductory

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Marine Biology - Middle School

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Marine Biology - High School

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, found a steep rise in strandings involving common dolphins and baleen whales - filter-feeding species that include minke and humpback whales.

From BBC • Aug. 20, 2025

Minke whales are considered the smallest of the great, or baleen, whale family, and can grow to more than 26 feet long and weigh as much as 14,000 pounds, according to NOAA.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2025

Filter feeders are everywhere in the animal world, from tiny crustaceans and certain types of coral and krill, to various molluscs, barnacles, and even massive basking sharks and baleen whales.

From Science Daily • Nov. 25, 2024

North Pacific right whales are baleen whales, which feed by straining huge volumes of ocean water through their comb-like baleen plates that trap copepods and other zooplankton.

From Seattle Times • May 27, 2024

Kaz waited as long as he dared to bite into his own baleen.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.