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 Word Forms

• porchless adjective
• porchlike adjective
• underporch 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

He heads to Cape Cod in Massachusetts, where he checks into a storied Victorian B&B featuring turrets, a wrap-around porch and, conveniently, a hot ghost.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

When Laura Seymour sips coffee on her porch in rural Vermont this time of year, she’s treated to rolling hills of red, orange and yellow.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Vaughn says he could be “sipping mimosas on my porch,” rather than editing film and writing scripts.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Then, she heard her husband talking with someone in the living room; an Associated Press photographer showed up on their front porch.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Outside, its low-sloped roof, wide eaves, textured wood and brick surfaces, and its shaded porch set behind broad overhangs are welcoming and human scaled.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• balcony 
• deck 
• portico 
• stoop 
• veranda