Orca
//ˈoɹkə// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A sea mammal (Orcinus orca) related to dolphins and porpoises, commonly called the killer whale.
"In the summer, when the weather is calm and beautiful, large flocks of orcæ can be seen approaching the shallow places near the shore, or between the numerous islands of the White Sea. Several fishermen associate for hunting orcæ, each one furnishing a boat, and a large seine made of cords of the thickness of a finger, the meshes being 10½ inches square."
- 2 predatory black-and-white toothed whale with large dorsal fin; common in cold seas wordnet
Example
More examples"The orca is one of the largest predators in the ocean."
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin orca (“tun, cask; whale”), see there for more. Although the origin is obscure, the sometimes-cited association with orcus (“underworld”) is folk-etymology. Doublet of orc.
Related phrases
More for "orca"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.