noun
porridge
POR-ihj
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."
2
British slang for a prison sentence.
"He did five years' porridge for the robbery."
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.
Common pairings
bowl of porridge
oat porridge
do porridge
Word Forms
porridges plural
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “porridge”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
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.