porridge

American  

[pawr-ij, por-] / ˈpɔr ɪdʒ, ˈpɒr- /

noun

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

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porridge British  

/ 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 )

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Other Word Forms

• porridgelike adjective

Etymology

Origin of porridge

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

Compare meaning

How does porridge compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• gruel vs. porridge

Example Sentences

Onion and bacon tend to point elsewhere: perhaps a baked potato soup, or a congee-style porridge finished with a fried egg.

From Salon

“Auntie Kafui came and brought porridge, but Ma couldn’t eat it!”

From Literature

They sit in similar registers — closer to porridge than broth, a texture that my brain immediately interprets as nourishing.

From Salon

But if electricity is only available sporadically, she says, "the food doesn't keep very well. There were cases when food was cooked in the morning and by dinner the porridge had become completely solid."

From BBC

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

Related Words

• gruel
• oatmeal
• polenta