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

Michael LeTourneau, who runs Porterhouse Construction in Denver, said his Brunt pants are more stretchy than the stiff canvas pants he used to wear.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026

She's boiled dozens of eggs, mashed a concerning number of potatoes, and seared more Porterhouse steaks than she cares to recall.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2022

On July 22, 2019, Kennedy was summoned for a lunch with Dunn at Butcher and Singer, a tony Philadelphia restaurant that offers Porterhouse steaks for $68.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 24, 2021

Mr. Sharpe was equally known for his novel “Porterhouse Blue,” published in 1974 and set at the fictional Porterhouse College of Cambridge University.

From New York Times • Jun. 9, 2013

“I’d have ordered salads and green things,” Hutchinson criticized hungrily, “with a big, rare, Porterhouse, and young onions and radishes,—the kind your teeth sink into with a crunch.”

From The Faith of Men by London, Jack