Top Definitions
Synonyms
Quiz
Related Content
Examples
British
Scientific

pore

¹

[ pawr, pohr ]

/ pɔr, poʊr /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for pore on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), pored, por·ing.

to read or study with steady attention or application: a scholar poring over a rare old manuscript.

to gaze earnestly or steadily: to pore over a painting.

to meditate or ponder intently (usually followed by over, on, or upon): He pored over the strange events of the preceding evening.

OTHER WORDS FOR pore

3 ponder, scrutinize, peruse, examine.

See synonyms for pore on Thesaurus.com

VIDEO FOR PORE

Pore Over or Pour Over

MORE VIDEOS FROM DICTIONARY.COM

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of pore

¹

1250–1300; Middle English pouren< ?

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH pore

pause, paws, pores , pours

Words nearby pore

porcupine anteater, porcupinefish, porcupine grass, porcupine provisions, Porcupine River, pore, pore fungus, por favor, porgy, Porgy and Bess, Pori

Other definitions for pore (2 of 2)

pore²

[ pawr, pohr ]

/ pɔr, poʊr /

noun

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

a minute interstice, as in a rock.

Origin of pore

²

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

OTHER WORDS FROM pore

porelike, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pore in a sentence

The bigger story can be found in poring over the data to see which industries are growing, and which aren’t.
Here’s what’s driving global stocks to new all-time highs|Bernhard Warner|February 5, 2021|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.
Sharks and rays are far less abundant in the world’s oceans than 50 years ago|Kate Baggaley|January 27, 2021|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.
Gov. Larry Hogan presents a $49.35 billion budget for fiscal 2022|Ovetta Wiggins|January 20, 2021|Washington Post
Hours of video posted on social media and pored over by investigators have focused on individuals in military-style gear moving together.
Self-styled militia members planned on storming the U.S. Capitol days in advance of Jan. 6 attack, court documents say|Spencer Hsu, Tom Jackman, Devlin Barrett|January 20, 2021|Washington Post

The General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, will begin poring over the budget Wednesday.
Hogan to release 2022 fiscal budget that boosts education and offers a $1 billion economic stimulus package|Ovetta Wiggins|January 19, 2021|Washington Post
Had there not been photographs and memorabilia to pore over, dancing would have been the only sensible option.
The Cult of Blondie: Debbie Harry’s Very Special New York Picture Show|Tim Teeman|October 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It gave me license to pore over raw tape, again and again, to absorb the subtle clues of human behavior.
We Interrupt This Broadcast: How a TV Producer Learned to Write Fiction|George Lerner|September 9, 2014|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.
‘True Detective,’ Obsessive-Compulsive Noir, and ‘Twin Peaks’|Jimmy So|March 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is advice to sift, pore over, and weigh up, with a view to us deciding for ourselves.
John Sutherland‘s Enjoyable Little History of Literature|Malcolm Forbes|November 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The paranoia he unleashed was so overwhelming that it seeped into every pore of society, including the Pendle witch trials.
This Week’s Hot Reads: Sept. 30, 2013|Thomas Flynn, Jimmy So|September 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
When I shifted my position, he turned the other way quick, and coughed–that pore little gone-in cough of hisn.
Alec Lloyd, Cowpuncher|Eleanor Gates
He bowed and sat down, white and perspiring at every pore, and hardly knowing to what he had committed himself.
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes
He read the document again, and felt the perspiration oozing out of every pore.
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes
"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.
David Lannarck, Midget|George S. Harney
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.
Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. Yellowplush|William Makepeace Thackeray

British Dictionary definitions for pore (1 of 2)

pore¹

/ (pɔː) /

verb (intr)

(foll by over) to make a close intent examination or study (of a book, map, etc)he pored over the documents for several hours

(foll by over, on, or upon) to think deeply (about)he pored on the question of their future

(foll by over, on, or upon) rare to look earnestly or intently (at); gaze fixedly (upon)

Word Origin for pore

C13 pouren; perhaps related to peer ²

undefined pore

See pour

British Dictionary definitions for pore (2 of 2)

pore²

/ (pɔː) /

noun

anatomy zoology any small opening in the skin or outer surface of an animal

botany any small aperture, esp that of a stoma through which water vapour and gases pass

any other small hole, such as a space in a rock, soil, etc

Word Origin for pore

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for pore

pore

[ pôr ]

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.

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.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.