pour
Americanverb (used with object)
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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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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:
Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta are collectively on track to pour roughly $700 billion into AI data centers, chips and computing infrastructure this year.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
As governments and companies pour hundreds of billions of dollars into developing AI, sceptics are asking whether the technology will be profitable enough to justify such huge investments.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
As tech companies pour billions of dollars into building data centers, the investments could create jobs, but AI could strain vital resources such as electricity and water.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Thursday also marked Micron’s first concrete pour for its facility in Clay, N.Y., a quarter ahead of schedule.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
“Unless you brought some cereal? I pour a mean bowl of cereal.”
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
Every significant criminal case eventually becomes a vessel into which the country pours its anxieties, fears, loyalties, and grievances.
From Slate ● Jun. 17, 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
"It pours some cold water on the enthusiasm of students coming through the system," he said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
That means the percentage of the fund invested in SpaceX will decline as more money pours in.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
Webb jumps down the stairs and pours what’s left of his coffee onto the grass.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
Since the launch of single-stock leveraged ETFs on May 27, Korean individual investors have poured about $9.45 billion into the products, often tracking chip makers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The capital was already buzzing with activity after the final, where thousands of supporters who gathered in bars and three fan zones had poured out into the streets in celebration.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
They’ll be warm and brought back to life shortly when rich, warm broth is poured.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
Hundreds of comments of support have poured in on the restaurant’s Instagram page.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
Erato poured a little water into her mouth, and Christopher dipped a piece of the bread in the apricot and put it between her lips.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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
Even after pouring billions into ending the crisis, it remains one of L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
At the same time, businesses are pouring gobs of money into artificial intelligence.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
In adapting the premise for TV, series creator Nick Antosca dilutes the movies’ naked menace by pouring reasonable doubt into both Max’s profile and that of the Bowdens, the married lawyers behind his downfall.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
Next he built a fire and started pouring strange, smelly powders onto the flames.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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.
