having an acid taste, resembling that of vinegar, lemon juice, etc.; tart.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
First recorded before 1000; Middle English adjective and noun sure, soure, Old English adjective sūr; cognate with German sauer, Dutch zuur, Old Norse sūrr
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."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The largest U.S. refineries were built long ago to best run heavy and sour crude: the thick, higher-sulfur oil from Canada, Venezuela, Mexico and the Persian Gulf.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Keegan's return as Newcastle United manager in 2008 swiftly turned sour and he never returned to the game.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Platner himself resigned with sour grapes, insisting he’s being unfairly treated and implying he’s the victim of a conspiracy.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
“Like a sour milk base or something, mixed with porta potty with a little chemical on top of it,” she said, describing the aroma.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
Just as I’d hoped, the added power of sour caused a buzz.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
The critically-acclaimed Sour was inspired by heartbreak and feelings of loneliness.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 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
“You’re wanted, Reek,” said Sour Alyn, his breath foul with the smell from his rotten teeth.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
For the rest of us, however, inflation may leave a sourer taste.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2022
Pickle flavor hits all the right notes for people — especially those under 40 — who are looking for bigger, bolder, brighter and sourer flavors, food and beverage researchers said.
From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2022
For the sour element, lime juice is the classic choice, but lemon, grapefruit, sourer oranges, or any other mouth-puckering, citrusy fruit you have on hand would work too.
From Slate ● May 22, 2020
Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images This Queens Park Rangers vintage is now officially corked, the season turning sourer than the cheap plonk served up by the hapless Swindon sommelier John Gorman in 1993.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 14, 2012
The measure of barley kneaded with the straw, of which the bread, sourer than yeast, was made, had not cost more than five sous; and the bread was musty and as dry as bark.
From Four Arthurian Romances by Comfort, William Wistar
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
I predict no Seattle starter makes it to the fourth inning from here on in, that the offense wilts like a dying daisy, and that the M’s end their season on the sourest of notes.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2017
She was, he vowed, so "dainty, so fresh, so fragrant," that none but the sourest of anchorites could resist her—and he was no anchorite, as the world knew well.
From Love Romances of the Aristocracy by Hall, Thornton
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
And new entities are struggling to gain traction as investor sentiment sours.
From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026
For Bessent, taking a strong position on who Trump should select for the job risks saddling him with the blame if Trump sours on his choice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025
Jayden’s phone rings and his whole expression sours.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
It first soured over a decade ago, during the tenure of athletic director Pat Haden.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
The alliance has genuinely soured in recent months.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
Swinney said at this point "relations soured significantly".
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Since then, several more events have soured the relationship between the U.S. and its allies to the point where they are scarcely allies at all.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
But the leers and hostility from the outside world had soured me on that plan, and the thought of living alone left me cold.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Lores landed with HP and eventually became CEO in 2019, as the company faced slowing sales and souring investor sentiment, and got to work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 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
But it clearly shows that investors aren’t souring on South Korean chip companies just yet, even in the face of more volatility and AI-bubble fears.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
Each new alarm like this elicits anxieties and murmurs that souring private credit is about to become the new subprime mortgage crisis.
From Barron's ● May 30, 2026
On the other hand, because of their souring relationship, Megan had asked her mother not to come to her high school graduation.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
