Porter Meaning
/ˈpɔɹtɚ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA person who carries luggage and related objects.
nounAn ant having the specialized role of carrying.
Sentence Examples
Don't forget to tip the porter for carrying your luggage.
Please have the porter take the baggage to our room.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
At the train station, the ____ took our heavy suitcases up three flights of stairs.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The hotel ____ carried the guests' luggage to their room and explained the facilities available.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English porter, portere, portier, borrowed from Anglo-Norman portour and Old French porteor, from Late Latin portātor, from past participle of Latin portāre (“to carry”). By surface analysis, port (“to carry”) + -er.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Achilles! a drayman, a porter, a very camel."
— c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
"the unsmotherable delight of all the porters and by - standers"
— 1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “(please specify the chapter name)”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:
"The man who carries your luggage at the station is a "red cap", not a porter. The Canadian porter is the man who makes up the beds in the sleeping cars."
— 1954 February, Trevor Holloway, “Canada's Transcontinental Routes”, in Railway Magazine, page 130:
"As soon as we had come to a stand in Kamina Station, a swarm of porters pushed their way into the compartment to get my luggage. I selected one, and ordered the others out, and then detrained."
— 1958 February 26, Arthur F. Beckenham, “A Journey in the Belgian Congo”, in Railway Magazine, page 125:
"Tips were an important part of porters' income, and at Christmas passengers felt there was extra pressure to give them - despite some perceiving the level of service to be poor."
— 2022 December 14, David Turner, “The Edwardian Christmas getaway...”, in RAIL, number 972, page 35:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
At the train station, the ____ took our heavy suitcases up three flights of stairs.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The hotel ____ carried the guests' luggage to their room and explained the facilities available.