humpback whale: Meaning and Definition of

hump'back whale'

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. a large whalebone whale of the genus Megaptera having long narrow flippers, and noted for its habit of arching deeply as it dives: once abundant in coastal waters, it is now rare but its numbers are increasing.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.