fluke
5
9.5
- noun
- /fluːk/
- Specialized
:
aleta caudal
- With powerful beats of its fluke, the humpback descends into the dark gloom of deep water.
Examples
-
The fluke left a gray-colored mark on the water, as obvious and clear as a footprint.
Fiction book (2000) -
The newborn's flukes and dorsal fin are curled initially but soon become straight and rigid.
Academic text (1992) -
For a moment, all that remains are the flukes, black.
Fiction book (2000) -
After forty-five minutes, the calf's fluke tip appeared.
Academic text (1992) -
And then, with a great lazy slap of its flukes, the whale sank down and disappeared.
Fiction book (2002) -
The struck dolphin kinked its flukes and streaked away.
Fiction book (1990) -
The humpback whale lifted its fluke out of the water during its majestic breach.
-
The distinct patterns on a dolphin's fluke help researchers identify individual animals.
-
In the distance, we could see the flukes of a sperm whale as it swam gracefully through the ocean.
Synonyms
A flat fin at a fish's rear used to push and steer it in water
A tail fin at the back of a fish that pushes water to make it move and steer
Compounds
Surface Forms
Etymology
Fluke for the tail of a whale likely comes from old use for a flat, broad part; like a flipper, a fluke is the pair of flat lobes that push the animal through the water.