orca

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“
The two species look similar and, like the orca, the false killer whale attacks and kills other cetaceans.

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Definitions (4)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. noun See killer whale.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (1)

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Examples (49)

  • They would hunt the silkie as they hunted the orca, with bone-tipped spears. —  F ;SF; - vol 090 issue 06 - June 1996
  • Herman jumped up from his seat and did an instant 360, looking for the attacker, certain that another orca was about to materialize. —  F ;SF - vol 086 issue 01 - January 1994
  • It's big, big as an orca, and it has broad flippers in front and four huge splayed tusks. —  FSF,August2004
  • The most complex marine species on the planet is the orca, the ruler of the ocean.
  • Messages demanding action from tens of thousands of people just like you have helped the Center influence decision makers, stop destructive practices that destroy our wild lands, and win protections for endangered species like the orca and northern goshawk.
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Latin ōrca, whale, probably alteration (probably influenced by ōrca, vessel) of Greek orux, orug-, pickax, a kind of large fish or whale, perhaps from orussein, to dig.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. New Latin, from Latin orca, a butt, tun, a dice-box; a transferred use of orca, a kind of whale: see orc.
 

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/ˈɔrkə/
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