porpoise

American  

[pawr-puhs] / ˈpɔr pəs /

noun

plural

porpoise,

plural

porpoises

1. any of several small, gregarious cetacean mammals of the genus Phocoena, usually blackish above and paler beneath, and having a blunt, rounded snout, especially the common porpoise, P. phocoena, of both the North Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

2. any of several small cetacean mammals, as the common dolphin, Delphinus delphis.

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verb (used without object)

porpoised, porpoising

1. (of a speeding motorboat) to leap clear of the water after striking a wave.

2. (of a torpedo) to appear above the surface of the water.

3. to move forward with a rising and falling motion in the manner of a porpoise.

   The car has a tendency to porpoise when overloaded.

porpoise British  

/ ˈpɔːpəs /

noun

1. any of various small cetacean mammals of the genus Phocaena and related genera, having a blunt snout and many teeth: family Delphinidae (or Phocaenidae )

2. (not in technical use) any of various related cetaceans, esp the dolphin

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Other Word Forms

• porpoiselike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of porpoise

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English porpoys, from Middle French porpois, from unattested Vulgar Latin porcopiscis “hog fish,” for Latin porcus marīnus “sea hog”

Explanation

Porpoises are ocean mammals that are very similar to dolphins. Most porpoises prefer cold Northern waters and stay close to the shore. Like their close relatives, dolphins and orcas, porpoises are toothed whales, descendants of hoofed land animals like the hippopotamus. It's not always easy to tell a porpoise from a dolphin, but they have shorter noses, smaller mouths, and differently shaped teeth. They're also not quite as chatty as dolphins, and don't make dolpins' distinctive whistling sound. They're just as intelligent, though.

Example Sentences

Then there are the moves: the Flamingo Twirl, the Porpoise Spin, the Swan, the Albatross, the Butterfly, the Heron and the Manta Ray.

From Washington Post • Aug. 7, 2021

Darius boards a yacht, the Porpoise, named for a creature that belongs fully to neither land nor sea.

From The New Yorker • Jun. 13, 2019

The real Tucker and Centers did actually meet in the early ’80s, but it happened at a private club called the Whale and Porpoise in Fort Lauderdale.

From Slate • Sep. 28, 2018

The Vaquita Porpoise, perhaps the most endangered marine mammal in the world.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2016

But on shipboard the Porpoise is just—a porpoise.

From The Ship Dwellers A Story of a Happy Cruise by Paine, Albert Bigelow

Related Words

• mammal