porridge

[pawr-ij, por-]

noun

1. a food made of oatmeal, or some other meal or cereal, boiled to a thick consistency in water or milk.

porridge

/ ˈpɒrɪdʒ /

noun

1. a dish made from oatmeal or another cereal, cooked in water or milk to a thick consistency

2. slang,  a term in prison (esp in the phrase do porridge )

Other Word Forms

• porridgelike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of porridge¹

1525–35; variant of earlier poddidge, akin to pottage

Word History and Origins

Origin of porridge¹

C16: variant (influenced by Middle English porray pottage) of _pottage

Example Sentences

"You can be the cream of the crop one day and cold porridge the next - gone in a whim if you don't live up to expectations," he said.

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One morning soon after, as Giulia is chopping fruit and stirring porridge, the night watch tells her about an unusual little light that's been spotted on the horizon.

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Known for bacon-and-egg ice cream, snail porridge, and theatrical dining, he was a big brand worth big bucks.

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"We used to get porridge for breakfast but not anymore. So, the children have to wait until the afternoon to have their first meal," says Ms Livio, who fled from South Sudan.

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Premium porridge brand 3Bears, for example, recently launched its own range of low ingredient breakfast cereals, in partnership with footballer Harry Kane.

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Related Words

• gruel 
• oatmeal 
• polenta