porpoise

[ pawr-puhs ]

/ ˈpɔr pəs /

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noun, plural (especially collectively) por·poise, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) por·pois·es.

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.

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

verb (used without object), por·poised, por·pois·ing.

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

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

to move forward with a rising and falling motion in the manner of a porpoise: The car has a tendency to porpoise when overloaded.

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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”

OTHER WORDS FROM porpoise

por·poise·like, adjective

Words nearby porpoise

porphyroblast, porphyrogenite, porphyroid, porphyropsin, porphyry, porpoise, porrect, porridge, porringer, Porro prism, Porsena

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use porpoise in a sentence

The problems of overfishing go beyond the damage to important species like sharks and rays and charismatic, endangered species like the vaquita porpoise.
Climate scientists should pay more attention to fish poop. Really.|Benji Jones|October 8, 2021|Vox
Whales, dolphins and porpoises all live in water, but they’re not fish.
Let’s learn about whales and dolphins|Sarah Zielinski|June 22, 2021|Science News For Students
From time to time a porpoise swam up, and with a sudden roll disappeared below the scarcely ruffled surface.
Dream Tales and Prose Poems|Ivan Turgenev
There is a rotund, porpoise-shaped globular gentleman known of these parts as 'Bim the Button Man.'
The Onlooker, Volume 1, Part 2|Various

Tad made a long, curving dive not unlike that of a porpoise.
The Pony Rider Boys in Texas|Frank Gee Patchin
The girls plump as a young porpoise, an shes mine, an Im going to keep her; you can lay to that!
Cursed|George Allan England
They were like silver gulls escorting limitless schools of porpoise through placid waters.
The Glory of The Coming|Irvin S. Cobb

British Dictionary definitions for porpoise

porpoise

/ (ˈpɔːpəs) /

noun plural -poises or -poise

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

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

Word Origin for porpoise

C14: from French pourpois, from Medieval Latin porcopiscus (from Latin porcus pig + piscis fish), replacing Latin porcus marīnus sea pig

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

porpoise

Origin of porpoise

OTHER WORDS FROM porpoise

Words nearby porpoise

Words related to porpoise

How to use porpoise in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for porpoise

Word Origin for porpoise