noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/bəˈliːn/
/ˈbeɪliːn/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -iːn
rhymes with -eɪliːn
CMU ARPABET:B AH0 L IY1 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
keratinous material that makes up the plates in the mouth of the baleen whale (Mysticeti), which it uses to trap its food; formerly used in corsetry.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Topics: medicine, physiology, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: whalebone
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A baleen whale (Mysticeti).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable
Topics: biology, natural-sciences, zoology
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Any whale or large fish.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, obsolete, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
a horny material from the upper jaws of certain whales; used as the ribs of fans or as stays in corsets
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: whalebone
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: horn
History
Etymology
From Middle English baleyne, from Old French baleine (“whale, whalebone”), from Latin balaena (“whale”), from Ancient Greek φάλαινα (phálaina, “whale”).
Across languages
Translations
28 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
бале́на
(baléna)
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Bulgarian:
китова кост
(kitova kost)
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Chinese Mandarin:
鯨鬚 /鲸须
(jīngxū)
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Crimean Tatar:
kit mıyığı
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Czech:
kostice
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Dutch:
balein
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Esperanto:
balenosto
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Esperanto:
balenlameno
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Esperanto:
barto
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Finnish:
hetula
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
French:
fanon
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
German:
Barte
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Greek:
μπανέλα
(banéla)
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Greek:
μπαλένα
(baléna)
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Ido:
barto
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Indonesian:
balin
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Italian:
fanone
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Māori:
pāhautea
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Persian:
صفحه شانهای
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Polish:
fiszbin
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Portuguese:
barbas de baleia
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Romanian:
fanon
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Russian:
кито́вый ус
(kitóvyj us)
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Northern Sami:
skuogga
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Spanish:
barbas de ballena
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Swahili:
mfupanyangumi
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Swedish:
bard
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
Ukrainian:
кито́вий вус
(kytóvyj vus)
— plates in mouth of baleen whale
