porch

[ pawrch, pohrch ]

noun

1. an exterior appendage to a building, forming a covered approach or vestibule to a doorway.
2. a veranda.
3. the Porch, the portico or stoa in the agora of ancient Athens, where the Stoic philosopher Zeno of Citium and his followers met.
4. Obsolete. a portico.

porch

/ pɔːtʃ /

noun

1. a low structure projecting from the doorway of a house and forming a covered entrance
2. an exterior roofed gallery, often partly enclosed; veranda

Other Words From

• porchless adjective
• porchlike adjective
• under·porch noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of porch¹

1250–1300; Middle English porche < Old French < Latin porticus porch, portico

Word History and Origins

Origin of porch¹

C13: from French porche, from Latin porticus portico

Example Sentences

“I was losing it,” Peter later recalled as we sat on their front porch on a far-too-warm November afternoon in Altadena, California, just below the San Gabriel Mountains.

From ProPublica

He got sicker and decided to drive himself to the hospital, but made it no farther than his front porch.

From Washington Post

A rear porch partially collapsed, and one firefighter was injured.

From Washington Post

He also mailed a bottle to Charlie Sheen, who never tasted it because it was stolen from his front porch, probably because it was tantalizingly labeled “Top Secret,” so O’Neill sent another.

From Washington Post

Democrats and inauguration fans, trying to make the best of things, are looking for small ways to be part of the moment, even from their porches.

From Washington Post

He stands, one assumes on a porch, which overlooks a prairie.

From The Daily Beast

Davis jumped over a 4-foot porch wall and ran into a house, where he and others crammed themselves into a linen closet.

From The Daily Beast

Gosta Peterson sits on the porch of his Long Island home and greets passersby.

From The Daily Beast

On the porch, before I go, Peterson looks at me through the lens of a small digital camera before training it on his front lawn.

From The Daily Beast

She taught little black boys to love themselves, and look beyond their own front porch to the hope of a broader horizon.

From The Daily Beast

Sol laughed out of his whiskers, with a big, loose-rolling sound, and sat on the porch without waiting to be asked.

From Project Gutenberg

The lady in black was reading her morning devotions on the porch of a neighboring bathhouse.

From Project Gutenberg

Sarah was standing on the porch again wiping her hands on her apron, looking away toward the fields.

From Project Gutenberg

The bells were clashing merrily from the village spire as the party passed out of the church porch.

From Project Gutenberg

The fight was over and Lawrence rode up to the house, and was met on the porch by a white haired, fine looking old gentleman.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• balcony
• deck
• portico
• stoop
• veranda