Illustration of porcupine
porcupine
noun
por·cu·pine
ˈpȯr-kyə-ˌpīn 
plural porcupines also porcupine
: any of various relatively large slow-moving chiefly herbivorous rodents having sharp erectile spines mingled with the hair and constituting an Old World terrestrial family (Hystricidae) and a New World chiefly arboreal family (Erethizontidae)
Examples of porcupine in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This little guy was born when San Diego Zoo's veterinary team performed the first-ever C-section for a North American porcupine earlier this year.
—
Kate Murphy, Axios, 18 Sep. 2024
The art is in the otherworldly magic within the pictures—the majesty of a wolf’s face, the grace of swans on a lake, the bold colors of red-and-green macaws, the pose of a porcupine, the embrace of a tiger.
—Kayla Randall, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Oct. 2024
Jeffrey Davidow, a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, once likened the relationship between the two countries to one between a bear and a porcupine.
—Denise Dresser, Foreign Affairs, 1 Feb. 2021
The implausibility of Shyamalan’s story no longer bothers me: So what if the monsters look like bipedal porcupines?
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 30 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for porcupine 
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Kate Murphy, Axios, 18 Sep. 2024
The art is in the otherworldly magic within the pictures—the majesty of a wolf’s face, the grace of swans on a lake, the bold colors of red-and-green macaws, the pose of a porcupine, the embrace of a tiger.
—Kayla Randall, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Oct. 2024
Jeffrey Davidow, a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, once likened the relationship between the two countries to one between a bear and a porcupine.
—Denise Dresser, Foreign Affairs, 1 Feb. 2021
The implausibility of Shyamalan’s story no longer bothers me: So what if the monsters look like bipedal porcupines?
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 30 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for porcupine
Dictionary Entries Near porcupine
Cite this Entry
“Porcupine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/porcupine. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
porcupine
noun
por·cu·pine
ˈpȯr-kyə-ˌpīn
: any of various rather large slow-moving mostly plant-eating rodents with stiff sharp quills among the hairs on the body
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