porridge
Americannoun
noun
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a dish made from oatmeal or another cereal, cooked in water or milk to a thick consistency
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slang a term in prison (esp in the phrase do porridge )
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of porridge
1525–35; variant of earlier poddidge, akin to pottage
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Explanation
Porridge is a thick, warm type of food similar to oatmeal. It's often a breakfast food. When you boil oats in milk or water, the end result of porridge. Porridge is served in a bowl and eaten with a spoon. It’s usually served for breakfast and is famous for appearing in the fairy tale of Goldilocks. Porridge is the food that's too hot, too cold, and then just right.
Vocabulary lists containing porridge
"The Tempest," Vocabulary from Acts 1 and 2
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Sideways Stories from Wayside School
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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 finished khichuri should have a consistency similar to porridge.
From Salon • Jun. 7, 2026
Pupils who regularly attend the club all praised the food, which includes cereal, toast and porridge, and said they had benefitted from scheme.
From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026
Breakfast is her favourite meal and she recommends eating porridge with a variety of toppings as a way to get some fibre in the morning.
From BBC • Jan. 16, 2026
In the Starkadders’ home, breakfast means congealed porridge, and cows are called Feckless, Aimless, Graceless and Pointless.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
She spooned porridge into her mouth, found it to be bland, and scooped four heaping mounds of brown sugar into the gray mess.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
