noun
Uncommon
porridge
POR-ihj
Porridge (noun) means a soft, thick breakfast dish made by cooking oats or other grain in milk or water. Example: “She had a warm bowl of porridge before school.”
noun
1
A soft, thick breakfast dish made by cooking oats or other grain in milk or water.
"She had a warm bowl of porridge before school."
"There were rumours, new rumours every morning, delightful and outrageous rumours, so that the lumps in the porridge were swallowed without comment and the fish-cakes were eaten without contumely."
— Michael Arlen, 1/1/2 (1922)
"Eat your porridge while it's hot!"
2
British slang for a prison sentence.
"He did five years' porridge for the robbery."
"Just do your porridge and keep your head down."
How to use porridge
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA hot oat-based breakfast dish, or, informally in British slang, time served in prison.
When to use it
"Doing porridge" for a prison term is informal British slang, largely unknown in American English.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
bowl of porridge
oat porridge
do porridge
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Word forms
- Plural
- porridges
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She had a warm bowl of _____ before school.
Etymology
A variant of "pottage" (a thick stew), influenced by the old word "porray" for a leek stew. The prison-sentence slang comes from the tradition of serving porridge to prisoners at breakfast.
Rhymes for porridge
See all rhymes for porridge →Frequently asked questions
What does “porridge” mean?
The word “porridge” means a soft, thick breakfast dish made by cooking oats or other grain in milk or water. In plain terms, a hot oat-based breakfast dish, or, informally in British slang, time served in prison.
How do you pronounce “porridge”?
“Porridge” is pronounced POR-ihj (/ˈpɔɹɪd͡ʒ/ in IPA).
How do you use “porridge” in a sentence?
Here is “porridge” used in a sentence: “She had a warm bowl of porridge before school.”
What part of speech is “porridge”?
“Porridge” is a noun.
Is “porridge” a common word?
“Porridge” is an uncommon word in modern English.
How many meanings does “porridge” have?
“Porridge” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a soft, thick breakfast dish made by cooking oats or other grain in milk or water.
