spyhop

[ spahy-hop ]

noun

1. 1. a vertical half-rise out of the water performed by a whale in order to view the surroundings.
   2. a springing bounce in tall grasses performed by certain land mammals, as foxes and wolves, to view the surroundings.

verb (used without object)

, spy·hopped, spy·hop·ping.

1. to perform such a rise or bounce.

Word History and Origins

Origin of spyhop¹

spy + hop ¹

Example Sentences

I first encountered the Whale Trail in the summer of 2019 on a trip to British Columbia’s Gulf Islands, home to diverse wildlife including orcas that sometimes pass a few feet from shore and spyhop — or poke their heads out of the water — to watch people watching them.

From Washington Post

As they paddled, she and Moore could “spyhop,” or see at the same level as an orca when it rises partially out of the sea to look around.

From Washington Post