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)
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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:
The takeaway: Even a company hunting for $1 billion in savings knows a brand turnaround can be undercut by a cheap plastic cap or an awkward pour.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
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
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
Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta are collectively on track to pour around $700 billion into AI data centers, chips and computing infrastructure this year.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
As soon as the car pulls off, a heavy, angry rain starts to pour.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Natural light pours into Bloom Center, by contrast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
‘Hysteria’ grips San Francisco’s housing market as AI wealth pours in.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 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
In the kitchen, she turns on the electric kettle and pours me a glass of lemonade.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
An unprecedented 72,000 people poured into Ceuta from Morocco from July 30, mostly by swimming around a barrier in the Mediterranean Sea, according to official Spanish figures.
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
We are heading into a danger area now, thanks to the money being poured into artificial intelligence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
She poured water from a jug into a small kettle and set it on the fire.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Mourners took turns gently pouring water over a hand of the deceased while others lit incense sticks and folded their hands in prayer.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
Tributes are pouring out across Nepal after an avalanche killed all 10 members of an expedition on Pakistan's Broad Peak, six of whom were Nepalese.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Lebec’s thrilled schoolkids pouring out of their classrooms just to see Lindbergh come out of the weather station, and wouldn’t go back until Lindy himself told them to.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
Now they fear that AI technology - which China is pouring billions of dollars into - is providing simple, accessible tools that can be used to trick the public.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
When we were all done passing and pouring, I cleared my throat to get it ready for an army of words to pass through it.
From "Ida B" by Katherine 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.
