porter
1a person hired to carry burdens or baggage, as at a railroad station or a hotel.
a person who does cleaning and maintenance work in a building, factory, store, etc.
an attendant in a railroad parlor car or sleeping car.
Origin of porter
1Words Nearby porter
Other definitions for porter (2 of 4)
a person who has charge of a door or gate; doorkeeper.
Roman Catholic Church. ostiary (def. 1).
Origin of porter
2Other definitions for porter (3 of 4)
a heavy, dark-brown ale made with malt browned by drying at a high temperature.
Origin of porter
3Other definitions for Porter (4 of 4)
Cole, 1893–1964, U.S. composer.
David, 1780–1843, U.S. naval officer.
his son, David Dix·on [dik-suhn], /ˈdɪk sən/, 1813–91, Union naval officer in the Civil War.
Edwin Stanton, 1870–1941, U.S. film director.
Gene Gene Stratton Porter, 1868–1924, U.S. novelist.
Sir George, 1920–2002, British chemist: Nobel Prize 1967.
Katherine Anne, 1890–1980, U.S. writer.
Noah, 1811–92, U.S. educator, writer, and lexicographer.
Rodney Robert, 1917–85, British biochemist: Nobel Prize in medicine 1972.
William Sydney "O. Henry", 1862–1910, U.S. short-story writer.
a male given name.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use porter in a sentence
porter pointed out that Celgene had a structure set up where executive compensation was tied to sales goals for Revlimid.
Bristol Myers Squibb and Celgene got a beating in Congress on drug prices—but only Congress can fix the problem | Sy Mukherjee | October 1, 2020 | FortuneYet in the past two years, these stunning exchanges at congressional hearings have themselves gained plenty of attention beyond Capitol Hill — especially when porter pulls out what one person on Twitter dubbed “her mighty whiteboard of truth.”
‘Mighty whiteboard of truth’: The weapon Rep. Katie Porter used to school a pharma exec — and plenty others | Teo Armus | October 1, 2020 | Washington PostMy favorite porter hit, “Anything Goes,” was performed live at my request.
Gehl and porter argue that the political industry has essentially co-opted the media, which spreads their messages for free.
America’s Hidden Duopoly (Ep. 356 Rebroadcast) | Stephen J. Dubner | September 3, 2020 | FreakonomicsWe should note that most of the ideas Gehl and porter are presenting here are not all that novel if you follow election reform even a little bit.
America’s Hidden Duopoly (Ep. 356 Rebroadcast) | Stephen J. Dubner | September 3, 2020 | Freakonomics
Coded references to risqué and sexual matters were catnip to the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Cole porter.
When Broadway Musicals Were Dark And Subversive | Laurence Maslon | December 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut while that level of ‘haute couture’ is building the market, we want to be seen as more prêt-à-porter.
William, Kate, and Jay Z’s Favorite Art Star: Alexander Gilkes' World of Rock Stars and Royalty | Tim Teeman | December 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTporter was convicted and shortly after sentenced to death by a judge who compared him to a shark in a feeding frenzy.
Wrongly Imprisoned for 15 Years Thanks to an Innocence Project | Jacob Siegel | November 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe police found six eyewitnesses who reported seeing Anthony porter at the pool that night and named him as the killer.
Wrongly Imprisoned for 15 Years Thanks to an Innocence Project | Jacob Siegel | November 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAt that time, with the eyewitnesses all pointing at porter, the case seemed open and shut.
Wrongly Imprisoned for 15 Years Thanks to an Innocence Project | Jacob Siegel | November 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Café tender was asleep in his chair; the porter had gone off; the sentinel alone kept awake on his post.
Glances at Europe | Horace GreeleyTo talk German was beyond the sweep of my dizziest ambition, but an Italian runner or porter instantly presented himself.
Glances at Europe | Horace GreeleyArrived at the dépôt, I discharged my porter, sat down and waited for the place to open, with ample leisure for reflection.
Glances at Europe | Horace GreeleyPoindexter ordered his men to fall in, and they followed porter, but at a more leisurely gait.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. Dunnporter and Poindexter are within eleven miles of the place, and Duffield expects to be attacked by morning.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. Dunn
British Dictionary definitions for porter (1 of 4)
/ (ˈpɔːtə) /
a person employed to carry luggage, parcels, supplies, etc, esp at a railway station or hotel
(in hospitals) a person employed to move patients from place to place
US and Canadian a railway employee who waits on passengers, esp in a sleeper
East African a manual labourer
Origin of porter
1British Dictionary definitions for porter (2 of 4)
/ (ˈpɔːtə) /
mainly British a person in charge of a gate or door; doorman or gatekeeper
a person employed by a university or college as a caretaker and doorkeeper who also answers enquiries
a person in charge of the maintenance of a building, esp a block of flats
Also called: ostiary RC Church a person ordained to what was formerly the lowest in rank of the minor orders
Origin of porter
2British Dictionary definitions for porter (3 of 4)
/ (ˈpɔːtə) /
British a dark sweet ale brewed from black malt
Origin of porter
3British Dictionary definitions for Porter (4 of 4)
/ (ˈpɔːtə) /
Cole. 1893–1964, US composer and lyricist of musical comedies. His most popular songs include Night and Day and Let's do It
George, Baron Porter of Luddenham. 1920–2002, British chemist, who shared a Nobel prize for chemistry in 1967 for his work on flash photolysis
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)
Rodney Robert. 1917–85, British biochemist: shared the Nobel prize for physiology or medicine 1972 for determining the structure of an antibody
William Sidney. original name of O. Henry
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for Porter
[ pôr′tər ]
British biochemist who shared with George Edelman the 1972 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for their study of the chemical structure of antibodies.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse