1
a
: possessing or full of pores
b
: containing vessels
hardwood is porous
2
a
: permeable to fluids
b
: permeable to outside influences
3
: capable of being penetrated
porous national boundaries
porously
adverb
porousness
noun
Examples of porous in a Sentence
The country has a porous border.
a cleaner that should not be used on porous surfaces
Recent Examples on the Web
Pigskin provides the best breathability of all leather gloves due to the hide’s porous texture and dries soft after getting wet.
—
Rachel Ahrnsen, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Apr. 2024
Borders in the region are porous, and Central Asian regimes, though autocracies, are extremely weak.
—Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Apr. 2024
The auditor deemed our house moderately porous—no surprise, given its age—but didn’t see anything obvious to plug.
—Tik Root, WIRED, 30 Mar. 2024
These intensely personal moments pile up over time, though the fourth wall grows less porous as Carmichael’s inner circle gets used to the experiment.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 29 Mar. 2024
The auditor deemed our house moderately porous — no surprise, given its age — but didn’t see anything obvious to plug.
—Tik Root, Grist, Quartz, 29 Mar. 2024
The Lakers were almost made to pay for their porous defense, as the Pacers came back from 19 points down to cut the lead to only three when All-Star Tyrese Haliburton drilled two triples inside the final 30 seconds of the game.
—Sam Joseph, CNN, 25 Mar. 2024
Both receivers took advantage of a porous, poor-tackling Eagles secondary to make their way to the end zone.
—Fred Goodall, USA TODAY, 16 Jan. 2024
The entire Yucatan Peninsula is built on porous limestone, which has a network of underground rivers.
—Meagan Drillinger, Travel + Leisure, 3 Mar. 2024
Rachel Ahrnsen, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Apr. 2024
Borders in the region are porous, and Central Asian regimes, though autocracies, are extremely weak.
—Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Apr. 2024
The auditor deemed our house moderately porous—no surprise, given its age—but didn’t see anything obvious to plug.
—Tik Root, WIRED, 30 Mar. 2024
These intensely personal moments pile up over time, though the fourth wall grows less porous as Carmichael’s inner circle gets used to the experiment.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 29 Mar. 2024
The auditor deemed our house moderately porous — no surprise, given its age — but didn’t see anything obvious to plug.
—Tik Root, Grist, Quartz, 29 Mar. 2024
The Lakers were almost made to pay for their porous defense, as the Pacers came back from 19 points down to cut the lead to only three when All-Star Tyrese Haliburton drilled two triples inside the final 30 seconds of the game.
—Sam Joseph, CNN, 25 Mar. 2024
Both receivers took advantage of a porous, poor-tackling Eagles secondary to make their way to the end zone.
—Fred Goodall, USA TODAY, 16 Jan. 2024
The entire Yucatan Peninsula is built on porous limestone, which has a network of underground rivers.
—Meagan Drillinger, Travel + Leisure, 3 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'porous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near porous
Cite this Entry
“Porous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/porous. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
porous
adjective
po·rous
ˈpōr-əs 
ˈpȯr-
1
: full of pores
2
: capable of absorbing liquids
Medical Definition
porous
adjective
po·rous
ˈpōr-əs, ˈpȯr-
1
: possessing or full of pores
porous bones
2
: permeable to fluids
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