MEANING
1. A small toothed whale of the porpoise family, typically with a short, blunt snout.
2. To leap through the surface of water or rise and fall repeatedly in a similar motion.
Use it for
identifying a small cetacean near a boat; distinguishing a porpoise from a long-beaked dolphin; describing a quiet surfacing marine mammalDistinguishes true porpoises from dolphins and records the established leaping or bobbing motion verb. Writing functions: Small toothed cetacean / Leaping motion.
Words that belong together
- a harbor porpoise
- a porpoise surfacing
- a group of porpoises
On the page
A porpoise surfaced briefly beyond the buoy and disappeared.
The observers identified the animal as a porpoise rather than a dolphin.
The penguins porpoised through the water beside the ice.
At speed, the bow began to porpoise against the chop.
Word forms
- Base
- porpoise
- Past tense
- porpoised
- Past participle
- porpoised
- Present participle
- porpoising
Usage notes
Countable noun: porpoise, porpoises. Verb: porpoise, porpoises, porpoised, porpoising; will porpoise. Register: neutral. Commonness: moderately common (dictionary-informed qualitative editorial estimate; not a measured frequency).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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