sour
adjective
having an acid taste, resembling that of vinegar, lemon juice, etc.; tart.
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sourer.
sour
American
[souuhr, sou-er]
/ saʊər, ˈsaʊ ər /
adjective
sourer,
sourest
-
having an acid taste, resembling that of vinegar, lemon juice, etc.; tart.
- Antonyms:
- sweet
-
rendered acid or affected by fermentation; fermented.
-
producing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is not bitter, salt, or sweet.
-
characteristic of something fermented.
a sour smell.
-
distasteful or disagreeable; unpleasant.
- Synonyms:
- unsatisfactory, subpar, suboptimal, bitter
-
below standard; poor.
It was a sour effort all around, the kind of effort that doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
-
harsh in spirit or temper; acrimonious; disagreeable; peevish.
-
Agriculture. (of soil) having excessive acidity.
-
(of gasoline or the like) contaminated by sulfur compounds.
-
Music. off-pitch; badly produced.
a sour note.
noun
-
something that is sour.
-
any of various cocktails consisting typically of whiskey or gin with lemon or lime juice and sugar and sometimes soda water, often garnished with a slice of orange, a maraschino cherry, or both.
-
any of various beers with a particularly acidic or tart taste, made so by acid-producing bacteria and yeast in the brew.
Sours are a good choice to go with deep-fried bar food.
-
an acid or an acidic substance used in laundering and bleaching to neutralize alkalis and to decompose residual soap or bleach.
verb (used without object)
-
sours,
present (3rd person singular)
-
soured,
past participle, past
-
souring
present participle
-
to become sour, rancid, mildewed, etc.; spoil.
Milk sours quickly in warm weather. The laundry soured before it was ironed.
-
to become unpleasant or strained; worsen; deteriorate.
Relations between the two countries have soured.
-
to become bitter, disillusioned, or disinterested.
I guess I soured when I learned he was married.
My loyalty soured after his last book.
-
Agriculture. (of soil) to develop excessive acidity.
verb (used with object)
-
sours,
present (3rd person singular)
-
soured,
past participle, past
-
souring
present participle
-
to make sour; cause sourness in.
What do they use to sour the mash?
-
to cause spoilage in; rot.
Defective cartons soured the apples.
-
to make bitter, disillusioned, or disagreeable.
One misadventure needn't have soured him. That swindle soured a great many potential investors.
sour
1
British
/ ˈsaʊə /
adjective
-
having or denoting a sharp biting taste like that of lemon juice or vinegar Compare bitter
-
made acid or bad, as in the case of milk or alcohol, by the action of microorganisms
-
having a rancid or unwholesome smell
-
(of a person's temperament) sullen, morose, or disagreeable
-
(esp of the weather or climate) harsh and unpleasant
-
disagreeable; distasteful
a sour experience
-
(of land, etc) lacking in fertility, esp due to excessive acidity
-
(of oil, gas, or petrol) containing a relatively large amount of sulphur compounds
-
to become unfavourable or inharmonious
his marriage went sour
noun
-
something sour
-
any of several iced drinks usually made with spirits, lemon juice, and ice
a whiskey sour
-
an acid used in laundering and bleaching clothes or in curing animal skins
verb
Sour
2
British
/ sʊə /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
oversournessnoun
-
sournessnoun
-
unsournessnoun
-
oversouradjective
-
sourishadjective
-
unsouradjective
-
oversourlyadverb
-
sourlyadverb
-
unsourlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
soursimple
-
sourssimple
-
have souredperfect
-
has souredperfect
-
am souringprogressive
-
are souringprogressive
-
is souringprogressive
-
have been souringperfect progressive
-
has been souringperfect progressive
Past
-
souredsimple
-
had souredperfect
-
was souringprogressive
-
were souringprogressive
-
had been souringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sour
First recorded before 1000; Middle English adjective and noun sure, soure, Old English adjective sūr; cognate with German sauer, Dutch zuur, Old Norse sūrr
Explanation
If something is sour, it has a tangy or sharp flavor, like a lemon. Your brother may love the taste of limes, while they're way too sour for you. Sometimes this adjective is used to describe a fermented odor (the way milk smells when it goes bad), or a wrong note in music, or even a terrible mood: "Mom was acting so sour that I didn't even ask her if we could have pizza for dinner." Sour comes from the Old English sur, "sour, tart, or fermented."
Vocabulary lists containing sour
"The Sun Rising" by John Donne
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odes
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Part 2 Vocabulary (Unit 3)
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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 South Coast Air Quality Management District received more than 4,900 odor complaints, “reporting persistent rotten, sour and garbage-like odors,” and issued the company 38 violation notices for public nuisance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Toss them with egg noodles and add a swirl of sour cream or labneh and you have something that starts edging toward weeknight stroganoff.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
As the second half wore on, the resilient visitors actually missed the game's two best chances through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Brennan Johnson, while the mood became increasingly sour as nerves and anxiety grew.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
M. trumani and every felid lineage sampled in the study lacked a functional gene responsible for producing a receptor involved in detecting sour tastes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026
She made a sour face and a gesture that was probably rude back in ancient Mesopotamia.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Anyone who's listened to Rodrigo's first two albums, 2021's Sour and 2023's Guts, knows the singer has endured a few calamitous heartbreaks, approaching them with a mix of anguish, confusion and feminine rage.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
I ask if Sour Patch Kids are gluten-free, and I get a warning about additives in the ingredient list.
From Slate ● May 6, 2026
The fast-food company has spent years plotting its beverage expansion, including tests of Sour Cherry Energy Burst and Blackberry Mint Green Tea drinks at the company’s short-lived concept called CosMc’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
Sour cream and cheese to add tang; pinto beans and red salsa for heartiness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
I added some Old Sour, with a dash of salt for good measure, and stirred.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
For the rest of us, however, inflation may leave a sourer taste.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2022
We are realistic about the fact that the national environment is sourer now than it was a few months ago.
From Slate ● Nov. 21, 2021
But in two self-portraits, featuring the artist cradling an old-time painter’s palette, you also sense a sourer side.
From New York Times ● Oct. 28, 2021
Now three decades old, the unused vacuum cleaners still bristle with the glory of newness, though the sculpture's beatification of consumer commodities tastes even sourer in our more ecologically minded age.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 25, 2014
I knew hundreds of lines long before I knew how to read; and it is thus that my ears, accustomed betimes to this ambrosia, have never since been able to endure any sourer draught.’
From Critical Miscellanies (Vol. 2 of 3) Essay 4: Joseph de Maistre by John Morley
It’s a return to innocence — a gustatory reminder of those carefree childhood moments when I indulged in the sourest of sour treats to my heart’s content.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2025
"Has that not just left the sourest taste in the mouth at the end of this international summer? I'm dumbfounded," said England all-rounder Georgia Elwiss on BBC Test Match Special.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2022
Filipino cooking is among the world’s brightest, sweetest, sourest, and funkiest of world cuisines; by comparison, almost any other food seems bland.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 19, 2018
But it is Cézanne’s treatment of Hortense’s mouth — surely the sourest and meanest in the history of portraiture — that is truly riveting.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 13, 2018
“Yes, sir, I hear,” said the woman in her sourest tones; “but my man told me I was to stick to my patients, no matter what happened.”
From Fix Bay'nets The Regiment in the Hills by William H. C. Groome
What follows is a tale of tension, deception and a forbidden love that sours, reminiscent of Brontë novels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
Everything reasonable from the first half quickly sours.
From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026
The clatter of cutlery as an atmosphere sours over dinner.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
On the flip side, temporary workers are also among the first to lose jobs when the broader economy sours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
I wish I could take the words back as Soojin’s expression instantly sours.
From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan
The potential sale of the Stellantis factory has soured labor talks between the company and Unifor, the union representing 9,000 of the automaker’s workers in Canada.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The Kailash pilgrimage was suspended in 2020 following the pandemic and remained closed as relations soured between India and China over the Himalayan border.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Partners Group has been under pressure this year as clients soured on private markets and investors grew concerned over its exposure to software and healthcare businesses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
The trial heard their friendship soured after an unsuccessful attempt by Dennis to sell a fake Rolex given to him by Oladipo.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
It is the emblematic photograph of Ernest Lawrence and Robert Oppenheimer together in the full bloom of their friendship, long before their personal relations became soured by rivalry, suspicion, and politics.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
“Bunds have chances to stabilize further ahead of the weekend,” Commerzbank’s Marco Stoeckle says in a note, citing “slightly souring business sentiment in the euro area and slowing supply.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Samsung Electronics stock had its worst day in three weeks on Monday as investors reacted to its shareholder-return plan, souring the mood for other memory-chip making rivals.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Many Americans are souring on the technology, but for activists on the front lines, the driving fear is often more dramatic: human extinction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Is the sunnier outlook a move to win back customers and the public who are souring on AI’s world-upending promise?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
He was on a roll and was about to say something else; but then, quite suddenly, he stopped, his face souring as if something unpleasant had occurred to him.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
