porpoise
Americannoun
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porpoise,
plural
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porpoises
plural
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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.
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any of several small cetacean mammals, as the common dolphin, Delphinus delphis.
verb (used without object)
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(of a speeding motorboat) to leap clear of the water after striking a wave.
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(of a torpedo) to appear above the surface of the water.
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to move forward with a rising and falling motion in the manner of a porpoise.
The car has a tendency to porpoise when overloaded.
noun
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any of various small cetacean mammals of the genus Phocaena and related genera, having a blunt snout and many teeth: family Delphinidae (or Phocaenidae )
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(not in technical use) any of various related cetaceans, esp the dolphin
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing porpoise
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The specimen was donated to the museum in 1966 and has now become the basis for an exceptionally detailed digital record of the rare porpoise.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 17, 2026
"We've always found it tricky to understand how grey seals would kill a healthy dolphin or porpoise," Langley said.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026
Not only that, but over the last five years of records, porpoise numbers have gone up by nearly a quarter.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2025
The construction of the main part of Three Gorges Dam in 2006 didn't directly impact the finless porpoise, which don't have to go upstream to spawn, although it did affect the fish they eat.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2025
John yanked on the line and pulled the porpoise close enough to where I could help him drag her into the boat.
From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin
Westfield said grey seals were known to occasionally prey on smaller harbour porpoises in Welsh waters, but there had not previously been a report involving common dolphins.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026
The disease is highly contagious and spreads easily among dolphins, whales, and porpoises causing severe disease and mass deaths.
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2025
Their diet centered on smaller marine mammals including harbor seals and harbor porpoises, and they usually traveled and foraged in groups of about five.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 20, 2025
Roughly 6 million common dolphins inhabit tropical and temperate waters worldwide, making them the most numerous members of the cetacean family, which includes whales and porpoises.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2025
Beached whales, porpoises caught in fishing nets, mermaids with hangnails— they’d call me to come underwater and help.
From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan
For nearly four hours, first in great confusion and then heartrending resignation, the saga played out on CNN as the Learjet porpoised through the air.
From Golf Digest ● Oct. 25, 2018
When he porpoised back he predicted: "I'll flatten dat bum wit' one punch."
From Time Magazine Archive
With wheels up, Moskva porpoised off a knoll, slammed down on her belly just beyond.
From Time Magazine Archive
Blue-wing olives swarmed over the water, and beneath them, pods of big rainbow trout porpoised all around me, their noses and backs and tails breaking the surface while they fed.
From Time Magazine Archive
Gentoo penguins porpoised along beside the boat as they raised the sail and plunged forward into the rolling waves.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
McLaren team chief Andrea Stella explained that the disqualification of both cars, for excessive wear of the skid blocks, was a result of an unexpected level of "porpoising... exacerbated by the conditions" in Nevada.
From Barron's ● Nov. 27, 2025
"It was clear from the data that the level of unexpected porpoising would be a concern," Stella said.
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2025
At least the ground effect — known as porpoising — which hindered the team so much in 2022 seems to have been eradicated.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 25, 2023
“I think porpoising is not a topic anymore,” he said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 25, 2023
When they stay up it is easy enough, but when they are porpoising, shooting it up for just a look around, you have to be looking right at one.
From The U-boat hunters by James B. (James Brendan) Connolly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
