pour
Americanverb (used with object)
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pours,
present (3rd person singular)
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poured,
past participle, past
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pouring
present participle
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to send (a liquid, fluid, or anything in loose particles) flowing or falling, as from one container to another, or into, over, or on something.
to pour a glass of milk; to pour water on a plant.
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to emit or propel, especially continuously or rapidly.
The hunter poured bullets into the moving object.
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to produce or utter in or as in a stream or flood (often followed byout ).
to pour out one's troubles to a friend.
verb (used without object)
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pours,
present (3rd person singular)
-
poured,
past participle, past
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pouring
present participle
-
to issue, move, or proceed in great quantity or number.
Crowds poured from the stadium after the game.
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to flow forth or along; stream.
Floodwaters poured over the embankments.
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to rain heavily (often used impersonally with it as subject).
It was pouring, but fortunately we had umbrellas.
noun
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the act of pouring.
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an abundant or continuous flow or stream.
a pour of insults.
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a heavy fall of rain.
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a wine or other beverage.
a list of the best pours.
verb
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to flow or cause to flow in a stream
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(tr) to issue, emit, etc, in a profuse way
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Also: pour with rain. to rain heavily
it's pouring down outside
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(intr) to move together in large numbers; swarm
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(intr) to serve tea, coffee, etc
shall I pour?
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events, esp unfortunate ones, come together or occur in rapid succession
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informal to be unenthusiastic about or discourage
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to try to calm a quarrel, etc
noun
Usage
The verbs pour and pore are sometimes confused: she poured cream over her strudel; she pored (not poured ) over the manuscript
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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pourabilitynoun
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pourernoun
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interpourverb (used with object)
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repourverb (used with object)
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pourableadjective
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unpourableadjective
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unpouredadjective
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pouringlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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poursimple
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pourssimple
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have pouredperfect
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has pouredperfect
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am pouringprogressive
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are pouringprogressive
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is pouringprogressive
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have been pouringperfect progressive
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has been pouringperfect progressive
Past
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pouredsimple
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had pouredperfect
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was pouringprogressive
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were pouringprogressive
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had been pouringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pour
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English pouren; origin uncertain
Explanation
To pour is to flow rapidly in a steady stream, or to cause something to flow. You can pour good coffee into a cup and pour bad coffee down the drain. You can pour your heart out, pour a cup of orange juice into or out of a cup, or watch the rain pour down while a poem pours from your lips. A jet of water may pour from a spout. Listen to how the water pours in this poem from Lewis Carroll's book, Alice in Wonderland: “How doth the little crocodile / Improve his shining tail, / And pour the waters of the Nile, / On every golden scale!”
Vocabulary lists containing pour
Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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Commonly Confused Words, List 5
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Commonly Confused Words, List 7
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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:
Attention and money is set to pour into those races over the coming months, along with some key statewide races.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Still, Meta increased the low end of its planned spending on AI – it is likely to pour more than $140bn into AI this year alone.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Seydou met Jerry Rice at the NFL Academy in 2019 and interviewed him for a social media clip, in which the NFL legend told Seydou to "pour yourself into what you're trying to accomplish"
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Concrete was the logical and obvious solution, but to pour concrete into the proper shapes required wooden molds, which in this case meant shapes of sculptural intricacy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Anya stopped off long enough to let Marina pour a warm drink down her throat, and then she and Kin left the Ivanov house.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Without those friendships, he pours himself into his crime-fighting work to stave off his loneliness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
Oltmanns, a professor at the University of Bremen in Germany, led a 2024 study showing that the melting of Greenland ice pours freshwater into the ocean, creating colder surface waters in the North Atlantic.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
The first pours of Cup of Ambition will be served at Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop, a new travel center opening June 24 off Exit 22 on Interstate 65 south of Nashville.
From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026
The state pours the tax revenue back into Medicaid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
But just as suddenly as the hope pours in, it drains out again.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
But now, as the sun poured through the third-floor atrium of the Bloom Center, Riley couldn’t help but point out the symbolism of such an ambitious undertaking actually coming to life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
This is where a man's emotional state is poured into his work, says Seker, who began working in the trade aged 12 as a summer job.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
The massive spending plans will require Musk to maintain his dedicated following among investors, many of whom have poured money into his ventures over the years and who are now betting he can deliver again.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
After Ramsey's delicate finish put Wales in front, they poured forward with such gusto that even Neil Taylor scored - the wing-back's first goal since he was playing in non-league for Wrexham six years earlier.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
The hole was getting bigger, and the bigger it got, the faster the water poured in, and the faster the water poured in, the bigger the hole got.
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
Experts familiar with Morocco's security apparatus expressed puzzlement at the absence of reinforcements from the police or the powerful military, even as migrants began pouring into Fnideq at the start of the week.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
Vast sums of money is pouring into AI businesses seeking more capital, fuelling domestic competition.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Eyes red, cheeks tear-stained and foreheads pouring sweat, the two squirmed in their seats and Bernthal said he was going to be sick.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
In lawsuits, insurers have claimed that prolific users of the process, including Radiology Partners and an arbitration-focused company called HaloMD, are pouring in ineligible claims and winning inappropriate payments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Only before I knew what was happening, the tears were pouring down my cheeks and I was bawling like a bald-headed baby.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
