porterhouse

American  

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

noun

plural

porterhouses

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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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

Compare meaning

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

• T-bone vs. porterhouse

Example Sentences

A 36-ounce porterhouse steak for two rings up at $210.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

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

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

It was followed by steak for two, a perfect medium-rare, dry-aged porterhouse with a beautiful crust — pre-cut for easy eating.

From Salon • Sep. 11, 2022

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