pore

¹

[ pawr, pohr ]

verb (used without object)

, pored, por·ing.

1. to read or study with steady attention or application:

   a scholar poring over a rare old manuscript.

2. to gaze earnestly or steadily:

   to pore over a painting.

3. to meditate or ponder intently (usually followed by over, on, or upon ):

   He pored over the strange events of the preceding evening.

   Synonyms: examine, peruse, scrutinize, ponder

pore

²

[ pawr, pohr ]

noun

1. a minute opening or orifice, as in the skin or a leaf, for perspiration, absorption, etc.
2. a minute interstice, as in a rock.

pore

¹

/ pɔː /

noun

1. anatomy zoology any small opening in the skin or outer surface of an animal
2. botany any small aperture, esp that of a stoma through which water vapour and gases pass
3. any other small hole, such as a space in a rock, soil, etc

pore

²

/ pɔː /

verb

1. foll by over to make a close intent examination or study (of a book, map, etc)

   he pored over the documents for several hours

2. foll byover, on, or upon to think deeply (about)

   he pored on the question of their future

3. rare.
   foll byover, on, or upon to look earnestly or intently (at); gaze fixedly (upon)

pore

/ pôr /

1. A tiny opening, as one in an animal's skin or on the surface of a plant leaf or stem, through which liquids or gases may pass.
2. A space in soil, rock, or loose sediment that is not occupied by mineral matter and allows the passage or absorption of fluids, such as water, petroleum, or air.

Usage

See pour

Other Words From

• porelike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pore¹

1250–1300; Middle English pouren < ?

Origin of pore²

1350–1400; Middle English poore < Late Latin porus < Greek póros passage; emporium, ford

Word History and Origins

Origin of pore¹

C14: from Late Latin porus, from Greek poros passage, pore

Origin of pore²

C13 pouren; perhaps related to peer ²

Example Sentences

The bigger story can be found in poring over the data to see which industries are growing, and which aren’t.

From Fortune

To investigate how sharks have been doing around the globe, Pacoureau and his colleagues pored over scientific papers, government reports, and other records and examined how the populations of different shark and ray species have changed over time.

From Popular-Science

Guzzone said lawmakers will look program by program as they pore over details in the thick budget books to ensure that the state is doing enough to help those who are in need.

From Washington Post

Hours of video posted on social media and pored over by investigators have focused on individuals in military-style gear moving together.

From Washington Post

The General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, will begin poring over the budget Wednesday.

From Washington Post

Had there not been photographs and memorabilia to pore over, dancing would have been the only sensible option.

From The Daily Beast

It gave me license to pore over raw tape, again and again, to absorb the subtle clues of human behavior.

From The Daily Beast

It is great fun to pore over clues and tunnel into a tree trunk like termites, and I am not apologizing for a guilty pleasure.

From The Daily Beast

It is advice to sift, pore over, and weigh up, with a view to us deciding for ourselves.

From The Daily Beast

The paranoia he unleashed was so overwhelming that it seeped into every pore of society, including the Pendle witch trials.

From The Daily Beast

When I shifted my position, he turned the other way quick, and coughed–that pore little gone-in cough of hisn.

From Project Gutenberg

He bowed and sat down, white and perspiring at every pore, and hardly knowing to what he had committed himself.

From Project Gutenberg

He read the document again, and felt the perspiration oozing out of every pore.

From Project Gutenberg

"Hit's the pore house fer a cow hand," was his terse aphorism on the subject, and Landy had never seen a "fitten" poor house.

From Project Gutenberg

The pore little man was a thought too fond of wine and spirits; and many and many's the night that I've had to support him home.

From Project Gutenberg