Meanings
plural basking sharks
- A very large shark, Cetorhinus maximus, that feeds at or close to the surface by filtering plankton from the water and is found in all the world's temperate oceans.
Like the whale shark, the basking shark is a huge, slow-moving plankton feeder. Also like the whale shark, the basking shark is the sole member of a family created especially to accommodate it.
1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 89
Synonyms & antonyms
nounlarge harmless plankton-eating northern shark; often swims slowly or floats at the sea surface
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Catalan pelegrí, tauró pelegrí
- pelegríCetorhinus maximus
- tauró pelegríCetorhinus maximus
- escanyabotsCetorhinus maximus
Chinese Mandarin 姥鲨
- 姥鲨 (lǎoshā)Cetorhinus maximus
Czech žralok veliký
- žralok velikýCetorhinus maximus
Danish brugde
- brugdeCetorhinus maximus
Esperanto cetorino
- cetorinoCetorhinus maximus
Finnish jättiläishai
- jättiläishaiCetorhinus maximus
French requin pèlerin
- requin pèlerinCetorhinus maximus
German Riesenhai
- RiesenhaiCetorhinus maximus
Hungarian óriáscápa
- óriáscápaCetorhinus maximus
Icelandic beinhákarl, barði
- beinhákarlCetorhinus maximus
- barðiCetorhinus maximus
- rýnirCetorhinus maximus
- beinagrániCetorhinus maximus
Irish liamhán gréine, seoltóir
- liamhán gréineCetorhinus maximus
- seoltóirCetorhinus maximus
Italian squalo elefante, squalo cetorino
- squalo elefanteCetorhinus maximus
- squalo cetorinoCetorhinus maximus
Japanese 姥鮫
- 姥鮫 (ubazame)Cetorhinus maximus
Norwegian Bokmål brugde
- brugdeCetorhinus maximus
Polish długoszpar, rekin olbrzymi
- długoszparCetorhinus maximus
- rekin olbrzymiCetorhinus maximus
Portuguese tubarão-frade, tubarão-peregrino
- tubarão-fradeCetorhinus maximus
- tubarão-peregrinoCetorhinus maximus
Russian гига́нтская аку́ла
- гига́нтская аку́ла (gigántskaja akúla)Cetorhinus maximus
Scottish Gaelic cearban
- cearbanCetorhinus maximus
Slovak žralok obrovský, žralok ozrutný
- žralok obrovskýCetorhinus maximus
- žralok ozrutnýCetorhinus maximus
- obroň sťahovavýCetorhinus maximus
Spanish tiburón peregrino
- tiburón peregrinoCetorhinus maximus
Swedish brugd
- brugdCetorhinus maximus
Turkish büyük camgöz
- büyük camgözCetorhinus maximus
Cite this entry
basking shark. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/basking%20shark
“basking shark.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/basking%20shark. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “basking shark,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/basking%20shark.
Source: basking shark on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.