porn
Americannoun
-
Sometimes porno pornography; sexually explicit videos, photographs, writings, or the like, produced to elicit sexual arousal (often used attributively).
arrested for selling porn;
a porn star;
porn films.
-
television shows, articles, photographs, etc., thought to cater to an excessive, irresistible desire for or interest in something.
a magazine filled with enticing food porn; an addiction to real-estate porn.
noun
-
Also called: porno. pornography
-
pejorative publications or broadcasts that demonstrate an unhealthy or voyeuristic interest in a particular subject
property porn
food porn
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of porn
First recorded in 1960–65; by shortening
Compare meaning
How does porn compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Porn is an abbreviation of pornography, a type of movie, magazine, book, or website that features sex or sexual situations with no other redeeming features. Porn is different than erotica, which may also feature sex but has more artistic merit. And it's different from a mainstream movie with a few sex scenes. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously said about porn, "I'll know it when I see it." People can also use the word porn to describe anything singular in focus that's meant to stir the senses: food porn, for example, features endless, excessive pictures of amazing looking food.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“This isn’t bear porn or AI doomer fan-fiction.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026
“This isn’t bear porn or AI doomer fan-fiction. The sole intent of this piece is modeling a scenario that’s been relatively underexplored,” they say.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 23, 2026
The NYT said its report did not infer or say any of the tribe's members were addicted to porn.
From BBC • May 23, 2025
“West Wing” is kind of reassuring progressive porn now.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 31, 2024
FOR efery Rose dot ploome in spring, Dey say an maid is porn; For efery pain dot Rose vill make Dey say dere comes a dorn.
From The Breitmann Ballads by Leland, Charles Godfrey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
