porcupine

American

[pawr-kyuh-pahyn] / ˈpɔr kyəˌpaɪn /

noun

any of several rodents covered with stiff, sharp, erectile spines or quills, as Erethizon dorsatum of North America.

porcupine British

/ ˈpɔːkjʊˌpaɪn /

noun

any of various large hystricomorph rodents of the families Hystricidae, of Africa, Indonesia, S Europe, and S Asia, and Erethizontidae, of the New World. All species have a body covering of protective spines or quills

"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

Other Word Forms

porcupinish adjective
porcupiny adjective

Etymology

Origin of porcupine

1375–1425; late Middle English porcupyne, variant of porcapyne; replacing porke despyne < Middle French porc d'espine thorny pig. See pork, spine

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.

The hollow spikes may have served as a defensive adaptation, functioning in a way similar to the quills of a porcupine by discouraging predators from attacking.

From Science Daily • Feb. 18, 2026

A bloodied but determined honey badger pursues a Cape porcupine in Botswana.

From BBC • Feb. 4, 2025

A new study published in the journal Current Biology claims to have reconciled the dispute, thanks to an exceptionally rare, nearly complete porcupine skeleton discovered in Florida.

From Science Daily • May 28, 2024

Whether you’re a pedestrian or a porcupine, you live in the thrall of roads.

From Slate • May 25, 2024

"Sam," she said at last, "I have never ever wished to have a porcupine instead of a son."

From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023