porridge

UK: /ˈpɒrɪdʒ/ US: /ˈpɔrɪdʒ, ˈpɑr-/ ,(pôr′ij, por′-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

por•ridge /ˈpɔrɪdʒ, ˈpɑr-/   n. 

[uncountable]
1. Food a thick cereal made esp. of oatmeal boiled in water or milk.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

por•ridge  (pôr′ij, por′-), n. 

1. Food a food made of oatmeal, or some other meal or cereal, boiled to a thick consistency in water or milk.

• variant of earlier poddidge, akin to pottage 1525–35

por′ridge•like′, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

porridge / ˈpɒrɪdʒ/ noun

1. a dish made from oatmeal or another cereal, cooked in water or milk to a thick consistency
2. a term in prison (esp in the phrase do porridge)

Etymology: 16th Century: variant (influenced by Middle English porray pottage) of pottage