porterhouse

American  

[pawr-ter-haus, pohr-] / ˈpɔr tərˌhaʊs, ˈpoʊr- /

noun

• porterhouses
  plural

1. Also called porterhouse steak. a choice piece of beef with a conspicuous T -shaped bone, cut from the short loin and similar to a T-bone steak but with a larger portion of tenderloin.

2. Archaic. a house at which porter and other liquors are retailed.

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porterhouse British  

/ ˈpɔːtəˌhaʊs /

noun

1. Also called: porterhouse steak. a thick choice steak of beef cut from the middle ribs or sirloin

2. (formerly) a place in which porter, beer, etc, and sometimes chops and steaks, were served

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• porterhouses
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of porterhouse

porter ³ + house; the archaic sense porterhouse ( def. 2 ) was first recorded in 1725–35, and the current sense porterhouse ( def. 1 ) in 1850–55

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Compare meaning

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

• T-bone vs. porterhouse

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

porterhouse porterhouses

Beef is more expensive than ever, and while many restaurants are feeling the squeeze, steakhouses are particularly in a pinch given their reliance on sales of dishes with a juicy porterhouse or rib-eye.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025

That leaves a lot of leeway for a menu, the ability — as Masters winners from Scottie Scheffler to Tiger Woods did — to default to bone-in ribeye or porterhouse steaks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2025

You’ll find a nice selection of top-grade steaks, including the well-loved ribeye, New York strip and filet, as well as a 48-ounce porterhouse and an American Wagyu flank steak.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2024

There will be grilled dry-aged porterhouse, rib-eye and other marbled cuts at the brewery on weekends as well.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 19, 2023

I don’t know if I love anything truly any more beyond the porterhouse at Peter Luger’s and the cheese enchilada at El Parador’s.

From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman

“And then we had a bunch of porterhouses on the table. Everyone was loving that, just to kind of pick on. It’s a great family style.”

From Seattle Times ● May 19, 2021

What does he mean, sendin' Miss Sally porterhouses, when she only orders flank steak, like he was wrappin' up love and affection into every steak?

From Kilo : being the love story of Eliph' Hewlitt, book agent by Ellis Parker Butler

Well, there goes as pretty a bunch of porterhouses as I'd want to put tooth to.

From Judith of the Plains by Marie Manning

Money—I could sleep in only one bed at a time, and of what worth was an income of a hundred porterhouses a day when I could eat only one?

From John Barleycorn by Jack London

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