sour
adjective
having an acid taste, resembling that of vinegar, lemon juice, etc.; tart.
Showing results for sour.
Search instead for
Sourc.
sour
American
[souuhr, sou-er]
/ saʊər, ˈsaʊ ər /
adjective
sourer,
sourest
-
having an acid taste, resembling that of vinegar, lemon juice, etc.; tart.
- Antonyms:
- sweet
-
rendered acid or affected by fermentation; fermented.
-
producing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is not bitter, salt, or sweet.
-
characteristic of something fermented.
a sour smell.
-
distasteful or disagreeable; unpleasant.
- Synonyms:
- unsatisfactory, subpar, suboptimal, bitter
-
below standard; poor.
It was a sour effort all around, the kind of effort that doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
-
harsh in spirit or temper; acrimonious; disagreeable; peevish.
-
Agriculture. (of soil) having excessive acidity.
-
(of gasoline or the like) contaminated by sulfur compounds.
-
Music. off-pitch; badly produced.
a sour note.
noun
-
something that is sour.
-
any of various cocktails consisting typically of whiskey or gin with lemon or lime juice and sugar and sometimes soda water, often garnished with a slice of orange, a maraschino cherry, or both.
-
any of various beers with a particularly acidic or tart taste, made so by acid-producing bacteria and yeast in the brew.
Sours are a good choice to go with deep-fried bar food.
-
an acid or an acidic substance used in laundering and bleaching to neutralize alkalis and to decompose residual soap or bleach.
verb (used without object)
-
sours,
present (3rd person singular)
-
soured,
past participle, past
-
souring
present participle
-
to become sour, rancid, mildewed, etc.; spoil.
Milk sours quickly in warm weather. The laundry soured before it was ironed.
-
to become unpleasant or strained; worsen; deteriorate.
Relations between the two countries have soured.
-
to become bitter, disillusioned, or disinterested.
I guess I soured when I learned he was married.
My loyalty soured after his last book.
-
Agriculture. (of soil) to develop excessive acidity.
verb (used with object)
-
sours,
present (3rd person singular)
-
soured,
past participle, past
-
souring
present participle
-
to make sour; cause sourness in.
What do they use to sour the mash?
-
to cause spoilage in; rot.
Defective cartons soured the apples.
-
to make bitter, disillusioned, or disagreeable.
One misadventure needn't have soured him. That swindle soured a great many potential investors.
sour
1
British
/ ˈsaʊə /
adjective
-
having or denoting a sharp biting taste like that of lemon juice or vinegar Compare bitter
-
made acid or bad, as in the case of milk or alcohol, by the action of microorganisms
-
having a rancid or unwholesome smell
-
(of a person's temperament) sullen, morose, or disagreeable
-
(esp of the weather or climate) harsh and unpleasant
-
disagreeable; distasteful
a sour experience
-
(of land, etc) lacking in fertility, esp due to excessive acidity
-
(of oil, gas, or petrol) containing a relatively large amount of sulphur compounds
-
to become unfavourable or inharmonious
his marriage went sour
noun
-
something sour
-
any of several iced drinks usually made with spirits, lemon juice, and ice
a whiskey sour
-
an acid used in laundering and bleaching clothes or in curing animal skins
verb
Sour
2
British
/ sʊə /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
oversournessnoun
-
sournessnoun
-
unsournessnoun
-
oversouradjective
-
sourishadjective
-
unsouradjective
-
oversourlyadverb
-
sourlyadverb
-
unsourlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
soursimple
-
sourssimple
-
have souredperfect
-
has souredperfect
-
am souringprogressive
-
are souringprogressive
-
is souringprogressive
-
have been souringperfect progressive
-
has been souringperfect progressive
Past
-
souredsimple
-
had souredperfect
-
was souringprogressive
-
were souringprogressive
-
had been souringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sour
First recorded before 1000; Middle English adjective and noun sure, soure, Old English adjective sūr; cognate with German sauer, Dutch zuur, Old Norse sūrr
Explanation
If something is sour, it has a tangy or sharp flavor, like a lemon. Your brother may love the taste of limes, while they're way too sour for you. Sometimes this adjective is used to describe a fermented odor (the way milk smells when it goes bad), or a wrong note in music, or even a terrible mood: "Mom was acting so sour that I didn't even ask her if we could have pizza for dinner." Sour comes from the Old English sur, "sour, tart, or fermented."
Vocabulary lists containing sour
"The Sun Rising" by John Donne
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
odes
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Part 2 Vocabulary (Unit 3)
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
However, sentiment in the Korean market, and towards semiconductor stocks in general, is so sour at present that traders were in no mood to appreciate the achievements.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
Keegan's return as Newcastle United manager in 2008 swiftly turned sour and he never returned to the game.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Choose whatever farmers market flavor is calling to you—apricot, sour cherry, blackberry and red plum would all be excellent this time of year.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
“Like a sour milk base or something, mixed with porta potty with a little chemical on top of it,” she said, describing the aroma.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
Slop’s face curdled up like sour milk, and he pointed a fat, hairy finger down at me.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
I plunked down at a gaming station and embarrassed myself playing “Mario Kart” over a lunch of Diet Coke and Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream chips.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
The boycott put Phillips Distilling, the family-owned maker of Sour Puss based in Minnesota, into a tight spot.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
I ask if Sour Patch Kids are gluten-free, and I get a warning about additives in the ingredient list.
From Slate ● May 6, 2026
Sour cream and cheese to add tang; pinto beans and red salsa for heartiness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
“You’re wanted, Reek,” said Sour Alyn, his breath foul with the smell from his rotten teeth.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
For the rest of us, however, inflation may leave a sourer taste.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2022
We are realistic about the fact that the national environment is sourer now than it was a few months ago.
From Slate ● Nov. 21, 2021
But in two self-portraits, featuring the artist cradling an old-time painter’s palette, you also sense a sourer side.
From New York Times ● Oct. 28, 2021
Now three decades old, the unused vacuum cleaners still bristle with the glory of newness, though the sculpture's beatification of consumer commodities tastes even sourer in our more ecologically minded age.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 25, 2014
To Ladykin, Truth out of season was sourer than strawberries at Christmas time.
From The Sick-a-Bed Lady And Also Hickory Dock, The Very Tired Girl, The Happy-Day, Something That Happened in October, The Amateur Lover, Heart of The City, The Pink Sash, Woman's Only Business by Abbott, Eleanor Hallowell
It’s a return to innocence — a gustatory reminder of those carefree childhood moments when I indulged in the sourest of sour treats to my heart’s content.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2025
"Has that not just left the sourest taste in the mouth at the end of this international summer? I'm dumbfounded," said England all-rounder Georgia Elwiss on BBC Test Match Special.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2022
The sourest, meanest mouth in the history of portraiture.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 23, 2020
Filipino cooking is among the world’s brightest, sweetest, sourest, and funkiest of world cuisines; by comparison, almost any other food seems bland.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 19, 2018
If she ain't the sourest mortal these days.
From Fair Harbor by Lincoln, Joseph Crosby
Everything reasonable from the first half quickly sours.
From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026
The clatter of cutlery as an atmosphere sours over dinner.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
Renowned photographer Randy and his playwright husband Jack are vacationing on the Oregon coast, but their trip sours.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026
And new entities are struggling to gain traction as investor sentiment sours.
From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026
The question sours in my mouth as he turns back to yanking the rest of the tattered plants.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
In his program notes, Everton CEO Angus Kinnear declared that he was "happily dissatisfied" with the campaign - an odd turn of phrase at a confusing moment that quickly soured after a 3-1 defeat.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
It first soured over a decade ago, during the tenure of athletic director Pat Haden.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
The alliance has genuinely soured in recent months.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
That venture soon soured because the scandal-prone Portnoy was, apparently, not a good fit for the highly regulated gambling industry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
But that day the riddle upset Mamá so much that the fight it stirred up between them soured the game for Papá.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Major U.S. tech names are reporting their earnings next week, which could potentially turn the souring mood around.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Is the sunnier outlook a move to win back customers and the public who are souring on AI’s world-upending promise?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
But it clearly shows that investors aren’t souring on South Korean chip companies just yet, even in the face of more volatility and AI-bubble fears.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
Each new alarm like this elicits anxieties and murmurs that souring private credit is about to become the new subprime mortgage crisis.
From Barron's ● May 30, 2026
He was on a roll and was about to say something else; but then, quite suddenly, he stopped, his face souring as if something unpleasant had occurred to him.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
