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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Front Desk
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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:
His film has ill will spewing from every pore, a complete loathing for humanity.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
Its combination of larger pores, carefully organized pore sizes, and high surface area helped the catalyst overcome the usual tradeoff between activity and stability.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 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
When we dutifully arrived with the papers, she would pore over them carefully, searching—“Okay... okay... here it is!”—grabbing the little form and filling it out.
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
Visible pores, blackheads, blemishes, pigmentation, redness and scarring are all very normal for teenage skin, says Dr Kentley.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
"Our findings show that hydrogen production depends not only on the amount of magnetite present, but also on how easily water can access fresh mineral surfaces through fractures, pores and permeable pathways."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 29, 2026
Its combination of larger pores, carefully organized pore sizes, and high surface area helped the catalyst overcome the usual tradeoff between activity and stability.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
At the start of frying, the tiny pores inside a potato are still filled with water, leaving little room for oil.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
Her soliloquies mawkish, her sentiments maudlin, malaise dripped like a fever from her pores.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
In creating “Actually, Nevermind,” Tomlinson pored through her mother’s diary, deciding to include a few excerpts in the finished book.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
You can tell he loves his work and despite having pored over these documents for years, he's still awestruck by their content.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 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
Investors are also gearing up for the latest earnings season, which will be pored over for an idea about the outlook for the AI industry.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
He decorated in frontier art, pored over western magazines, listened to Gene Autry on the phonograph, and motored around town in a blindingly ostentatious hot rod Studebaker roadster with a bug boy riding shotgun.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Tomé’s story echoed those I’ve heard from other board members, who spend hours poring over financial audits but little time auditing people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
It left Kevin poring over clues for who might be responsible.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
I spent weeks at a time poring over old social media posts.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
One evening, poring through the picturesque archives at the Yale Club while researching her monograph on memory and mind palace theory, Béatrice stumbles upon a curious audiotape.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026
To distract myself, I glanced at the newspaper the man next to me was poring over.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
