pour

American  

[pawr, pohr] / pɔr, poʊr /

verb (used with object)

1. 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.

2. to emit or propel, especially continuously or rapidly.

   The hunter poured bullets into the moving object.

3. to produce or utter in or as in a stream or flood (often followed byout ).

   to pour out one's troubles to a friend.

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verb (used without object)

1. to issue, move, or proceed in great quantity or number.

   Crowds poured from the stadium after the game.

2. to flow forth or along; stream.

   Floodwaters poured over the embankments.

3. to rain heavily (often used impersonally with it as subject).

   It was pouring, but fortunately we had umbrellas.

noun

1. the act of pouring.

2. an abundant or continuous flow or stream.

   a pour of insults.

3. a heavy fall of rain.

4. a wine or other beverage.

   a list of the best pours.

pour British  

/ pɔː /

verb

1. to flow or cause to flow in a stream

2. (tr) to issue, emit, etc, in a profuse way

3. Also: pour with rain.  to rain heavily

   it's pouring down outside

4. (intr) to move together in large numbers; swarm

5. (intr) to serve tea, coffee, etc

   shall I pour?

6. events, esp unfortunate ones, come together or occur in rapid succession

7. informal to be unenthusiastic about or discourage

8. to try to calm a quarrel, etc

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noun

1. a pouring, downpour, etc

pour Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing pour

• it never rains but it pours

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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

• interpour
  verb (used with object)
• pourability
  noun
• pourable
  adjective
• pourer
  noun
• pouringly
  adverb
• repour
  verb (used with object)
• unpourable
  adjective
• unpoured
  adjective

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!”

Example Sentences

Brunson, a burly scorer who does much of his work inside the 3-point arc, used the newfound space to pour in 35 points Monday night.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026

The King's second task was to try to pour some oil on turbulent political waters across the Atlantic.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026

But as long as the hyperscalers continue to pour billions of dollars into building new data centers to power AI, demand for chips should remain robust.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026

Skydio’s investment will pour $1 billion into boosting domestic production of vital parts and components used to build drones.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2026

I take off, looking for a water dispenser with one of those hot taps for making tea, so I can quickly pour the perfect mix of hot and cold to achieve room temperature.

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• cascade
• discharge
• drain
• flood
• flow
• gush
• rush
• spew
• spill
• splash
• stream
• swarm