Narwhal

//ˈnɑɹʍəl// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Monodon monoceros, an Arctic cetacean that grows to about 20 feet (6 meters) long, the male having a single horn-like tusk, a twisted, pointed canine tooth that projects forward.

    "Moreover, both narwhals and bowheads can occur in late summer in southern Prince Regent Inlet (coming from Lancaster Sound) and may reach Fury and Hecla Strait and northern Foxe Basin."

  2. 2
    small Arctic whale the male having a long spiral ivory tusk wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
cetaceanmonodon monocerosnarwalnarwhalesea unicornsea unicorn

Example

More examples

"The narwhal is the unicorn of the sea."

Etymology

From Dutch narwal or Danish/Norwegian Bokmål narhval, from Old Norse náhvalr, from nár (“corpse”) + hvalr (“whale”). Compare Icelandic náhvalur.

Related phrases

monodon monoceros

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.