porridge
Americannoun
noun
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a dish made from oatmeal or another cereal, cooked in water or milk to a thick consistency
-
slang a term in prison (esp in the phrase do porridge )
Other Word Forms
- porridgelike adjective
Etymology
Origin of porridge
1525–35; variant of earlier poddidge, akin to pottage
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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.
Onion and bacon tend to point elsewhere: perhaps a baked potato soup, or a congee-style porridge finished with a fried egg.
From Salon • Feb. 8, 2026
They sit in similar registers — closer to porridge than broth, a texture that my brain immediately interprets as nourishing.
From Salon • Jan. 29, 2026
Plain oats and most porridge, muesli and granola will not be banned under the crackdown, but some versions with added sugar, chocolate or syrup could be affected.
From BBC • Jan. 4, 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 buy the cheapest sack of porridge meal I can find at the market, and a little hope pierces my soul like sun through clouds.
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.
