sour
adjective
having an acid taste, resembling that of vinegar, lemon juice, etc.; tart.
sour
American
[sauuhr, sau-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
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odes
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Part 2 Vocabulary (Unit 3)
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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:
There are, of course, soups where acidity is built in earlier: Chinese hot-and-sour soups, borscht and various Eastern European sour soups all have their own traditions and techniques.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
While the process is far from over because Manchester City are expected to appeal, I have to say this verdict and the whole situation has left a very sour taste in my mouth.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
Social media influencer Yoatzi Castro was celebrating a friend’s birthday at Disneyland, snacking on churros and riding Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, when the celebratory mood turned sour.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
Dessert featured the two leaders and their fellow diners tucking into vanilla crémeux with sour cherry confit, with an accompanying ice cream "made with harvested White House honey".
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
So then why were the sour contents of his stomach inching up his throat?
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Nerds, Nutter Butters and Sour Patch Kids are turning up in sweet collaborations on restaurant menus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 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
Behind came Skinner, Sour Alyn, and Damon Dance-for-Me with his long greased whip, then the Walders riding the grey colts Lady Dustin had given them.
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
Pickle flavor hits all the right notes for people — especially those under 40 — who are looking for bigger, bolder, brighter and sourer flavors, food and beverage researchers said.
From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2022
Compared with punchier, sourer, more cynical sitcoms—from All in the Family to Seinfeld to The Office—that found humor in humanity’s bad behavior, Friends was smiley and conflict-averse to the point of being featherweight.
From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2014
Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images This Queens Park Rangers vintage is now officially corked, the season turning sourer than the cheap plonk served up by the hapless Swindon sommelier John Gorman in 1993.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 14, 2012
The eclogue is interesting as showing that the author, whose opinions are placed in the mouth of the precise Piers; belonged to what Ben Jonson later styled 'the sourer sort of shepherds.'
From Pastoral Poetry and Pastoral Drama A Literary Inquiry, with Special Reference to the Pre-Restoration Stage in England by Walter W. Greg
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
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
But it is Cézanne’s treatment of Hortense’s mouth — surely the sourest and meanest in the history of portraiture — that is truly riveting.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 13, 2018
Mutta-matutta nursed him night and day, with the sourest monkey-physic.
From The Three Mulla-mulgars by Walter De la Mare
Two journalists settled onto barstools beneath signs for pilsners and cherry sours.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
The positions are part of a monthslong wager designed to pay off if the hype around AI sours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
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
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
But experts say Malaysian attitudes towards migrants, particularly the Rohingya, soured during the Covid-19 pandemic when they became targets of misinformation about the disease.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
However, Federal Reserve tightening and multidecade highs in Treasury yields have soured the mood.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
As the first section of the media conference, which is allowed to be broadcast live, was ending, the mood soured.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
The Navatek founder, Loui, had long since soured on his chosen successor.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
His expression soured ever so slightly, as though he’d just swallowed some grounds with his already-bitter cup of coffee.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
That conflict has sent the cost of petrol - and in particular diesel - skyrocketing, souring his standing with the American public.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
The junk-bond market is also one of the best early signals of a souring economy, since low-rated borrowers feel stress first.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
Samsung Electronics stock had its worst day in three weeks on Monday as investors reacted to its shareholder-return plan, souring the mood for other memory-chip making rivals.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Maybe they’re souring on the markets they see.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Doubt curls into my stomach, souring it with anxiety.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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