Whale vs. Fish — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Fiza Rafique — Updated on April 17, 2024
Whales are warm-blooded mammals with lungs, while fish are cold-blooded vertebrates with gills.
Difference Between Whale and Fish
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Whales are mammals, meaning they breathe air through lungs and nurse their young with milk from mammary glands. Fish, on the other hand, are a diverse group of cold-blooded vertebrates that breathe underwater using gills.
Whales give birth to live young and have a gestation period that can vary significantly depending on the species, while fish exhibit a wide range of reproductive strategies, including laying eggs, which some species fertilize externally.
The body temperature of whales is regulated internally, allowing them to inhabit various marine environments, from tropical seas to icy polar waters. Fish are cold-blooded and depend on the temperature of their surrounding environment to regulate their body heat.
Whales communicate using complex sounds and are known for their intelligence and social behavior, particularly in species like dolphins and orcas. Fish communicate through a variety of means, including visual signals, electrical fields, and by releasing chemicals.
Whales typically have streamlined bodies and two flippers on the front, with a tail fin used for propulsion. Fish come in numerous shapes and sizes, typically having a body covered with scales, a tail fin, and usually a set of fins.
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Comparison Chart
Classification
Mammals
Vertebrates (not mammals)
Breathing
Lungs
Gills
Body Temperature
Warm-blooded
Cold-blooded
Reproduction
Live birth
Mostly egg-laying
Communication
Complex sounds
Visual, chemical, electrical
Compare with Definitions
Whale
Large marine mammal with lungs and flippers.
The blue whale is the largest animal known to have ever existed.
Fish
Aquatic animal with gills and fins.
Sharks and tuna are examples of fish.
Whale
Known for complex social behavior and communication.
Orcas use sophisticated hunting techniques that require coordination.
Fish
Covered in scales.
The rainbow trout has shiny, colorful scales.
Whale
Predominantly live in oceans and seas.
Whales migrate thousands of miles between feeding and breeding grounds.
Fish
Reproduces mostly by laying eggs.
Salmon return to their birthplace to lay eggs.
Whale
Members of the order Cetacea.
Both dolphins and belugas are considered whales.
Fish
Lives predominantly in water.
Fish can be found in nearly all aquatic environments.
Whale
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. They are an informal grouping within the infraorder Cetacea, which usually excludes dolphins and porpoises.
Fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups.
Whale
Any of various marine mammals of the order Cetacea; a cetacean.
Fish
A person who is strange in a specified way
He is generally thought to be a bit of a cold fish
Whale
Any of various larger members of this order, including the blue whale, humpback whale, and right whale, in contrast to the porpoises and dolphins.
Fish
A flat plate that is fixed on a beam or across a joint in order to give additional strength.
Whale
(Informal) An impressive example
A whale of a story.
Fish
Catch or try to catch fish, typically by using a net or hook and line
He was fishing for pike
I've told the girls we've gone fishing
Whale
To engage in the hunting of whales.
Fish
Search by groping or feeling for something concealed
He fished for his registration certificate and held it up to the policeman's torch
Whale
To strike or hit repeatedly and forcefully; thrash.
Fish
Mend or strengthen with a fish.
Whale
To strike or hit (a ball) with great force.
Fish
Join (rails in a railway track) with a fishplate.
Whale
To strike or hit a person or thing repeatedly and forcefully
Whaled away at the plaster wall with a mallet.
Fish
Any of various jawless aquatic craniates, including the lampreys and hagfishes.
Whale
To swing at a ball with great effort, especially repeatedly.
Fish
The flesh of such animals used as food.
Whale
To attack vehemently
The poet whaled away at the critics.
Fish
(Informal) A person, especially one considered deficient in something
A poor fish.
Whale
Any one of numerous large marine mammals comprising an informal group within infraorder Cetacea that usually excludes dolphins and porpoises.
Fish
To catch or try to catch fish.
Whale
(by extension) Any species of Cetacea.
Fish
To look for something by feeling one's way; grope
Fished in both pockets for a coin.
Whale
(figuratively) Something, or someone, that is very large.
Fish
To seek something in a sly or indirect way
Fish for compliments.
Whale
Something, or someone, that is excellent.
Fish
To catch or try to catch (fish).
Whale
(gambling) In a casino, a person who routinely bets at the maximum limit allowable.
Fish
To catch or try to catch fish in
Fish mountain streams.
Whale
An investor who deals with very large amounts of money.
Fish
To catch or pull as if fishing
Deftly fished the corn out of the boiling water.
Whale
A person who spends large amounts of money on things that are marketed to them.
Fish
Any animal (or any vertebrate) that lives exclusively in water.
Whale
(intransitive) To hunt for whales.
Fish
(Newfoundland) Cod; codfish.
Whale
To thrash, to flog, to beat vigorously or soundly.
Fish
(uncountable) The flesh of the fish used as food.
The seafood pasta had lots of fish but not enough pasta.
Though Lena is a vegetarian, she doesn't have any problem with eating fish.
Whale
Any aquatic mammal of the order Cetacea, especially any one of the large species, some of which become nearly one hundred feet long. Whales are hunted chiefly for their oil and baleen, or whalebone.
Fish
(uncountable) A card game in which the object is to obtain cards in pairs or sets of four (depending on the variation), by asking the other players for cards of a particular rank.
Whale
A very large person; impressive in size or qualities
Fish
A woman.
Whale
Any of the larger cetacean mammals having a streamlined body and breathing through a blowhole on the head
Fish
An easy victim for swindling.
Whale
Hunt for whales
Fish
A bad poker player. Compare shark (a good poker player).
Fish
A makeshift overlapping longitudinal brace, originally shaped roughly like a fish, used to temporarily repair or extend a spar or mast of a ship.
Fish
(nautical) A purchase used to fish the anchor.
Fish
A torpedo self-propelled explosive device.
Fish
(zoology) A paraphyletic grouping of the following extant taxonomic groups:
Fish
Class Myxini, the hagfish (no vertebrae)
Fish
Class Petromyzontida, the lampreys (no jaw)
Fish
Within infraphylum Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates (also including Tetrapoda))
Fish
(cartomancy) The thirty-fourth Lenormand card.
Fish
(prison slang) A new (usually vulnerable) prisoner.
Fish
A period of time spent fishing.
The fish at the lake didn't prove successful.
Fish
An instance of seeking something.
Merely two fishes for information told the whole story.
Fish
(obsolete) A counter, used in various games.
Fish
(intransitive) To hunt fish or other aquatic animals in a body of water.
We went fishing for crabs by the pier.
She went to the river to fish for trout.
Fish
(transitive) To search (a body of water) for something other than fish.
They fished the surrounding lakes for the dead body.
Fish
To use as bait when fishing.
Fish
(intransitive) To (attempt to) find or get hold of an object by searching among other objects.
Why are you fishing through my things?
He was fishing for the keys in his pocket.
Fish
To talk to people in an attempt to get them to say something, or seek to obtain something by artifice.
The detective visited the local pubs fishing around for more information.
The actors loitered at the door, fishing for compliments.
Fish
Of a batsman, to attempt to hit a ball outside off stump and miss it.
Fish
To repair (a spar or mast) by fastening a beam or other long object (often called a fish) over the damaged part (see Noun above).
Fish
To hoist the flukes of.
Fish
A counter, used in various games.
Fish
A name loosely applied in popular usage to many animals of diverse characteristics, living in the water.
Fish
An oviparous, vertebrate animal usually having fins and a covering scales or plates. It breathes by means of gills, and lives almost entirely in the water. See Pisces.
Fish
The twelfth sign of the zodiac; Pisces.
Fish
The flesh of fish, used as food.
Fish
A purchase used to fish the anchor.
Fish
To attempt to catch fish; to be employed in taking fish, by any means, as by angling or drawing a net.
Fish
To seek to obtain by artifice, or indirectly to seek to draw forth; as, to fish for compliments.
Any other fishing question.
Fish
To catch; to draw out or up; as, to fish up an anchor.
Fish
To search by raking or sweeping.
Fish
To try with a fishing rod; to catch fish in; as, to fish a stream.
Fish
The flesh of fish used as food;
In Japan most fish is eaten raw
After the scare about foot-and-mouth disease a lot of people started eating fish instead of meat
They have a chef who specializes in fish
Fish
(astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Pisces
Fish
The twelfth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about February 19 to March 20
Fish
Seek indirectly;
Fish for compliments
Fish
Catch or try to catch fish or shellfish;
I like to go fishing on weekends
Common Curiosities
What is the reproductive process of most fish?
Most fish lay eggs, which may be fertilized internally or externally.
Can whales live in freshwater?
While most whales live in saltwater, certain species of dolphins, which are types of whales, can live in freshwater rivers.
How do whales breathe?
Whales breathe air through their lungs, surfacing to exhale and inhale.
What types of social structures do whales have?
Many whale species have complex social structures, like pods, which are crucial for their survival and reproduction.
What are some common characteristics of fish?
Fish typically have fins, gills, and scales, and live their entire lives in water.
Do all fish lay eggs?
While most fish lay eggs, there are exceptions like sharks and rays, some of which give birth to live young.
Why are whales considered intelligent?
Whales display complex behaviors such as problem-solving and communication, indicators of high intelligence.
How do whales sleep without drowning?
Whales sleep by resting one half of their brain at a time, allowing them to surface for air.
Do fish communicate?
Yes, fish communicate using a variety of methods including sounds, visual signals, and chemical signals.
What is the largest type of whale?
The blue whale is the largest known species of whale.
How do fish regulate their body temperature?
Fish regulate their body temperature by moving to different depths or areas of water.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
