Porter

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈpɔːtə/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈpɔrtɚ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(pôr′tər, pōr′-)


Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Porter /ˈpɔːtə/ n
  1. Cole. 1893–1964, US composer and lyricist of musical comedies. His most popular songs include Night and Day and Let's do It
  2. George, Baron Porter of Luddenham. 1920–2002, British chemist, who shared a Nobel prize for chemistry in 1967 for his work on flash photolysis
  3. Katherine Anne. 1890–1980, US short-story writer and novelist. Her best-known collections of stories are Flowering Judas (1930) and Pale Horse, Pale Rider (1939)
  4. Peter. 1929–2010, Australian poet, lived in Britain
  5. Rodney Robert. 1917–85, British biochemist: shared the Nobel prize for physiology or medicine 1972 for determining the structure of an antibody
  6. William Sidney, original name of O. Henry
    See O. Henry
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
por•ter1 /ˈpɔrtɚ/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. one hired to carry baggage, as at a hotel.
  2. one who does cleaning, repairs, etc., in a building, store, etc.
See -port-.
por•ter2 /ˈpɔrtɚ/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. one who has charge of a door or gate;
    doorkeeper.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
por•ter1  (pôr′tər, pōr′-),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. a person hired to carry burdens or baggage, as at a railroad station or a hotel.
  2. a person who does cleaning and maintenance work in a building, factory, store, etc.
  3. Rail Transportan attendant in a railroad parlor car or sleeping car.
  • Late Latin portātōr- (stem of portātor). See port5, -or2
  • Middle French porteour
  • Middle English, variant of portour 1350–1400

por•ter2  (pôr′tər, pōr′-),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. a person who has charge of a door or gate;
    doorkeeper.
  2. Religion[Rom. Cath. Ch.]ostiary (def. 1).
  • Late Latin portārius gatekeeper. See port4, -er2
  • Anglo-French
  • Middle English 1250–1300

por•ter3  (pôr′tər, pōr′-),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Winea heavy, dark-brown ale made with malt browned by drying at a high temperature.
  • short for porter's ale, apparently origin, originally brewed for porters 1720–30

Por•ter  (pôr′tər, pōr′-),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Biographical Cole, 1893–1964, U.S. composer.
  2. Biographical David, 1780–1843, U.S. naval officer.
    3. his son, David Dix•on  (dik′sən),USA pronunciation 1813–91, Union naval officer in the Civil War.
  3. Biographical Gene (Gene Stratton Porter), 1868–1924, U.S. novelist.
  4. Biographical Sir George, born 1920, British chemist: Nobel prize 1967.
  5. Biographical Katherine Anne, 1890–1980, U.S. writer.
  6. Biographical Noah, 1811–92, U.S. educator, writer, and lexicographer.
  7. Biographical Rodney Robert, 1917–85, British biochemist: Nobel prize for medicine 1972.
  8. Biographical William Sydney ("O. Henry''), 1862–1910, U.S. short-story writer.
  9. a male given name.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
porter /ˈpɔːtə/ n
  1. a person employed to carry luggage, parcels, supplies, etc, esp at a railway station or hotel
  2. (in hospitals) a person employed to move patients from place to place
  3. US Canadian a railway employee who waits on passengers, esp in a sleeper
Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French portour, from Late Latin portātōr, from Latin portāre to carry
porter /ˈpɔːtə/ n
  1. chiefly Brit a person in charge of a gate or door; doorman or gatekeeper
  2. a person employed by a university or college as a caretaker and doorkeeper who also answers enquiries
  3. a person in charge of the maintenance of a building, esp a block of flats
Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French portier, from Late Latin portārius doorkeeper, from Latin porta door
porter /ˈpɔːtə/ n
  1. Brit a dark sweet ale brewed from black malt
Etymology: 18th Century: shortened from porter's ale, apparently because it was a favourite beverage of porters
'Porter' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
bellboy - chancellor - disport - Edelman - gatehouse - Hay - janitor - Martin - Mastroianni - minor orders - O. Henry - Osborne - Pollyanna - port - portage - porterhouse - portfire - portmanteau - purport - redcap - stout - vizier - already - bail - Barnard - Black and Tan - doorkeeper - half-and-half - hamal - henry - Melba - ostiary - page chair - Pale Horse, Pale Rider - porterage - porter chair - portiere - portress - prêt-à-porter - skycap - stiff

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