pore
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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pores,
present (3rd person singular)
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pored,
past participle, past
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poring
present participle
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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.
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to meditate or ponder intently (usually followed by over, on, orupon ).
He pored over the strange events of the preceding evening.
- Synonyms:
- examine, peruse, scrutinize, ponder
noun
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pores
plural
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a minute opening or orifice, as in the skin or a leaf, for perspiration, absorption, etc.
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a minute interstice, as in a rock.
noun
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anatomy zoology any small opening in the skin or outer surface of an animal
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botany any small aperture, esp that of a stoma through which water vapour and gases pass
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any other small hole, such as a space in a rock, soil, etc
verb
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(foll by over) to make a close intent examination or study (of a book, map, etc)
he pored over the documents for several hours
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to think deeply (about)
he pored on the question of their future
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rare to look earnestly or intently (at); gaze fixedly (upon)
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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.
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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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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poresimple
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poressimple
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have poredperfect
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has poredperfect
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am poringprogressive
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are poringprogressive
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is poringprogressive
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have been poringperfect progressive
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has been poringperfect progressive
Past
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poredsimple
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had poredperfect
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was poringprogressive
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were poringprogressive
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had been poringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pore1
1250–1300; Middle English pouren < ?
Origin of pore2
1350–1400; Middle English poore < Late Latin porus < Greek póros passage; see emporium, ford
Explanation
That trickle of sweat didn't just miraculously appear — it was secreted out of a pore, a really tiny opening on the surface of your skin. When used as a noun, pore means any tiny hole or opening that allows the passage of liquid. In humans, pores are the little holes that bring us such pleasures as armpit sweat and, when clogged, pimples. But when used as a verb, to pore means to concentrate your attention on or devote hours of focus to something: like poring over the overwhelming choices in the antiperspirant aisle.
Vocabulary lists containing pore
"To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell
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Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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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:
The isotopic makeup of the pore water helped the team determine where that material came from.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
South East England relies more heavily on groundwater - where rainfall is stored beneath the surface in pore spaces and fractures in the rock.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Upstairs, children pore over schoolbooks, mothers prepare lunch and television sets flicker in cramped living rooms, all against the constant background noise of shredders whining and baling presses pounding below.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
To get a full picture of Aidan’s health history, a clinician had to pore through paper records, relying on memory to weave disparate facts together.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026
“Gosh a’mighty, pore Miss Love! You reckon they’ve et her up alive in there?”
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
The researchers also carefully controlled the size and volume of the pores.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
Those tiny spaces exist throughout nature and technology, including nanoscale pores, membranes, and biological channels.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026
One of the best-known MOF glasses is ZIF-62, a porous material that can be melted and cooled into a glass while still keeping some of its internal pores.
From Science Daily ● May 22, 2026
By treating the brain like a sponge, the team could simulate how fluid travels through spaces of different sizes, similar to the folds of the brain or the pores of a sponge.
From Science Daily ● May 1, 2026
Her black pajama pants and shirt absorb the sun’s rays and sweat drips out of all her pores.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
His early success turning a few hundred million dollars into $45 billion earned him a cult following in online circles, where his firm’s routine regulatory filings were pored over like scripture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Next week's results from Microsoft, Meta and Amazon will be pored over for their capital spending plans.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
To decide what to fund, staffers with deep expertise typically pored over reams of information on abuses under the most repressive regimes and held an open competition to fund groups to work in those countries.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
Market reaction: Stocks were mixed in premarket trading after investors pored over the CPI report with one eye while keep the other eye on Warsh’s congressional testimony with the other.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
I worked out with a ball machine, played scores of tough sets against Wilfred and Scaramouche; I pored over dozens of tennis books dealing with strategy and tactics.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
After weeks of poring over listings for a place for him and three roommates, Mallot finally found a four-bedroom in the historic and affluent Nob Hill district.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
SpaceX’s S-1 IPO registration statement had investors poring over it to find any edge in valuing Elon Musk’s rocket company.
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
And while it’s not impossible that you actually have discovered something the rest of the market hasn’t seen, in fact there are millions of investors poring over the same data that you have.
From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026
England spent two minutes 41 seconds poring over every angle of the footage, checking the possible foul, the potential penalties.
From BBC ● May 10, 2026
He’s talking low, his eyes still poring into me, leaning a little closer.
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
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.
