humpback

American

[huhmp-bak] / ˈhʌmpˌbæk /

noun

a back that is humped in a convex position.
kyphosis.
the humpback whale.

humpback British

/ ˈhʌmpˌbæk /

noun

another word for hunchback
Also called: humpback whale. a large whalebone whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, closely related and similar to the rorquals but with a humped back and long flippers: family Balaenopteridae
a Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, the male of which has a humped back and hooked jaws
Also called: humpback bridge. a road bridge having a sharp incline and decline and usually a narrow roadway

"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

Other Word Forms

humpbacked adjective

Etymology

Origin of humpback

First recorded in 1690–1700; apparently back formation from humpbacked

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.

A humpback whale stranded on Germany's Baltic Sea coast since early this week has freed itself and swum into deeper waters, rescuers said Friday.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

Rescuers are continuing to try and save a stranded humpback whale off Germany's north coast.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

This area lies within a naturally low-oxygen zone and along migration routes used by humpback and grey whales.

From Science Daily • Dec. 28, 2025

The researchers used drones carrying sterile petri dishes to capture droplets from the exhaled breath of humpback, fin and sperm whales, combined with skin biopsies taken from boats.

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025

An average humpback weighs 50 tons, and is 15 meters long.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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