1
: the labor of carrying or transporting
2
archaic
: the cost of carrying : porterage
3
a
: the carrying of boats or goods overland from one body of water to another or around an obstacle (such as a rapids)
b
: the route followed in making such a transfer
portaged; portaging
: to carry over a portage
: to move gear over a portage
Did you know?
Portage was borrowed from French back in the 15th century to mean "carrying, transporting" or "freight", and it has kept its simple "carrying" sense to the present day. But its first known use in its "carrying of boats" sense came in 1698, and the obstacle that the canoes couldn't be steered over was none other than Niagara Falls. Though canoes are much lighter today than they used to be, a long portage that includes a lot of camping gear can still test a camper's strength.
Examples of portage in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
John Bowe, Travel + Leisure, 11 June 2026
The route requires paddling several lakes and crossing multiple portages, sometimes carrying your boat as far as 2 miles across difficult terrain.
—Robert Annis, Midwest Living, 7 June 2026
Fred Bear, Outdoor Life, 11 June 2026
To avoid this arduous roadblock, traders portaged through what is now the Portland neighborhood ― a driving factor in Louisville's establishment and early growth.
—Connor Giffin, The Courier-Journal, 9 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for portage
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Noun
These passages are called portages, a term derived from English and French trappers who, alongside Indigenous nations like the Ojibwe and the Dakota, collected pelts for the lucrative fur trade from the late 17th century to the early 19th.
—John Bowe, Travel + Leisure, 11 June 2026
The route requires paddling several lakes and crossing multiple portages, sometimes carrying your boat as far as 2 miles across difficult terrain.
—Robert Annis, Midwest Living, 7 June 2026
Verb
Twilight, Evening, Mystery, Cliff, Cedar, Perrault — traveling in two canoes with five-horsepower outboards, and portaging over rocky trails.
—Fred Bear, Outdoor Life, 11 June 2026
To avoid this arduous roadblock, traders portaged through what is now the Portland neighborhood ― a driving factor in Louisville's establishment and early growth.
—Connor Giffin, The Courier-Journal, 9 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for portage
Cite this Entry
“Portage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/portage. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Geographical Definition
Portage
geographical name
Por·tage
ˈpȯr-tij 
1
city on Lake Michigan in northwestern Indiana east of Gary population 36,828
2
city in southwestern Michigan south of Kalamazoo population 46,292
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