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
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.
Good sources of B6 are meat and fish, but it's also present in other foods, including porridge oats, potatoes and chickpeas.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
One special featured a comforting rice porridge, simmered until thick and creamy, studded with Costco rotisserie chicken—an unparalleled convenience food.
From Salon • Jan. 29, 2026
Videos of people sprinkling chia seeds on top of porridge and nutritionists lauding the benefits of red kidney beans and chickpeas are filling up people's TikTok feeds.
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
I put the lid on the porridge and walk over to watch him climb.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
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.
