beluga

[ buh-loo-guh ]

/ bəˈlu gə /

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See synonyms for beluga on Thesaurus.com

noun

Also called hausen. a white sturgeon, Huso huso, of the Black and Caspian seas, valued as a source of caviar and isinglass.

Also called sea canary, white whale. a cetacean, Delphinapterus leucas, of northern seas, that has a rounded head and is white when adult.

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Origin of beluga

1585–95; <Russian belúga (now regularly belúkha for the cetacean), equivalent to bél(yĭ) white + -uga, probably earlier *-ǫga (compare Czech pstruh,Polish pstrąg trout <*pĭstr- mottled + *-ǫgŭ a cognate suffix)

Words nearby beluga

Beltsville small white, Beltsy, belt-tightening, belt up, beltway, beluga, Belukha, belvedere, Belvidere, Belvoir Castle, Bely

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use beluga in a sentence

There are projects now to build sanctuaries for killer whales and belugas and dolphins, but they are moving slowly, and they didn’t exist at the time.
The Outside Story Behind the Documentary ‘Blackfish’|jversteegh|November 11, 2021|Outside Online
In this shallow, three-foot-deep water, belugas will occasionally pick up pebbles with their mouths.
How Whales Can Teach Us to Be Better Humans|Brian Skerry|June 8, 2021|Time
Just as belugas do, in between the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, it’s essential for us to make time for other things—things that bring joy.
How Whales Can Teach Us to Be Better Humans|Brian Skerry|June 8, 2021|Time
Perhaps my favorite observation took place in the Canadian Arctic with beluga whales.
How Whales Can Teach Us to Be Better Humans|Brian Skerry|June 8, 2021|Time

While she was a graduate student, she had tried to study cortisol in beluga whales in Manitoba, Canada.
Whale blowholes don’t keep out seawater|Rasha Aridi|September 22, 2020|Science News For Students
Break out the smoked salmon and beluga (post heat, of course).
Wolfgang's Revolution, at Your Gates|Katie Workman|July 28, 2009|DAILY BEAST
It has been noted that they are found in isolated pockets within that range and are not, like the beluga, widely distributed.
Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Western North Atlantic|Stephen Leatherwood
Like the other medium-sized whale in the same region, the beluga or white whale, the narwhal has no dorsal fin.
Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Western North Atlantic|Stephen Leatherwood
Among the creatures that visit the Lower St. Lawrence is the white whale,—beluga of the naturalists.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 20, No. 119, September, 1867|Various
Soon the water is red for each beluga sheds eight or ten gallons of blood.
A Canadian Manor and Its Seigneurs|George M. Wrong
The enterprising Barnum exhibited in New York a beluga which drew a boat about in his aquarium.
A Canadian Manor and Its Seigneurs|George M. Wrong

British Dictionary definitions for beluga

beluga

/ (bɪˈluːɡə) /

noun

a large white sturgeon, Acipenser (or Huso) huso, of the Black and Caspian Seas: a source of caviar and isinglass

another name for white whale

Word Origin for beluga

C18: from Russian byeluga, from byely white

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

beluga

Origin of beluga

Words nearby beluga

Words related to beluga

How to use beluga in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for beluga

Word Origin for beluga