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source

American  

[sawrs, sohrs] / sɔrs, soʊrs /

noun

• sources
  plural

1. any thing or place from which something comes, arises, or is obtained; origin.

   Which foods are sources of calcium?

   Synonyms:

   originator, supplier

2. the beginning or place of origin of a stream or river.

3. a book, statement, person, etc., supplying information.

   Synonyms:

   reference, authority

4. the person or business making interest or dividend payments.

5. a manufacturer or supplier.

6. Archaic. a natural spring or fountain.

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verb (used with object)

• sources,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sourced,
  past participle,  past
• sourcing
  present participle

1. to give or trace the source for.

   The research paper was not accurately sourced.

   The statement was sourced to the secretary of state.

2. to find or acquire a source, especially a supplier, for.

   Some of the components are now sourced in Hong Kong.

verb (used without object)

• sources,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sourced,
  past participle,  past
• sourcing
  present participle

1. to contract a manufacturer or supplier.

   Many large companies are now sourcing overseas.

2. to seek information about or consider possible options, available personnel, or the like.

   a job recruiter who was merely sourcing.

source British  

/ sɔːs /

noun

1. the point or place from which something originates

2. 1. a spring that forms the starting point of a stream; headspring

   2. the area where the headwaters of a river rise

      the source of the Nile

3. a person, group, etc, that creates, issues, or originates something

   the source of a complaint

4. 1. any person, book, organization, etc, from which information, evidence, etc, is obtained

   2. ( as modifier )

      source material

5. anything, such as a story or work of art, that provides a model or inspiration for a later work

6. electronics the electrode region in a field-effect transistor from which majority carriers flow into the interelectrode conductivity channel

7. at the point of origin

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verb

1. to determine the source of a news report or story

2. to originate from

3. (tr) to establish an originator or source of (a product, piece of information, etc)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sourcefulness
  noun
• sourceful
  adjective
• sourceless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sources
  plural

Participles

• sourcing
  present
• sourced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• source
  simple
• sources
  simple
• have sourced
  perfect
• has sourced
  perfect
• am sourcing
  progressive
• are sourcing
  progressive
• is sourcing
  progressive
• have been sourcing
  perfect progressive
• has been sourcing
  perfect progressive

Past

• sourced
  simple
• had sourced
  perfect
• was sourcing
  progressive
• were sourcing
  progressive
• had been sourcing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will source
  simple
• will have sourced
  perfect
• will be sourcing
  progressive
• will have been sourcing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of source

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English sours (noun), from Old French sors (masculine), sourse, source (feminine), noun use of past participle of sourdre, from Latin surgere “to spring up or forth”; cf. surge

Explanation

The noun source describes an origin, like the source who gave the journalist the information that broke a new story, or the place something originates, like the source of a river, or the Web site that is your source for celebrity gossip. The noun source can also refer to information obtained from documents, such as books, letters, newspapers, and journals. For example, when you write a research paper, you read, paraphrase and quote from sources. A source can also be a place where you get things, like a certain store being your source for discount sneakers or something that provides, like oranges, a good source of Vitamin C.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

source sources sourced sourcing

To keep catching consumers’ eyes, Conagra is running word-association research studies to find what words and phrases best draw attention without sounding too clinical, like “good source of fiber” and “high in protein.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

It also alleges suspicious foreign transactions and questions the source of funds for a series of overseas trips.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Health officials have keyed in on iceberg lettuce as a potential source.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

A security source, asking not to be named, said these operations have remained low-profile for now.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

This was Chisholm’s system for contact with her Soviet source.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

In the final hours before Wednesday's deadline, negotiators were discussing a deal that would reduce US tariffs on Canadian autos from 25% to 15%, according to a Reuters report citing anonymous sources.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

The loans were made to entities associated with Walter or TWG, and federal authorities are investigating whether they were passed through third parties, Bloomberg has reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the investigation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

“LCN’s differentiated platform is highly attractive for our asset and wealth management clients who want diversified sources of returns and offers corporate clients innovative capital solutions,” Goldman CEO David Solomon said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

The incident was deemed serious enough for the British embassy in Washington to raise the matter with the White House, according to two sources cited by Politico.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

When the Japanese military took control of all media in the Philippines, Filipinos lost access to objective news sources and were left only with propaganda.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Chinese parts remain much cheaper than those sourced from manufacturers in the West.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Taylor Farms itself announced a voluntary recall of lettuce sourced from central Mexico.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

Still, he said, steeper prices are worth it for the peace of mind he feels knowing the food was sourced locally.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

Taylor Farms also issued a recall that day of all iceberg lettuce sourced from Central Mexico from a certain time period.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

Our world requires that decisions be sourced and footnoted, and if we say how we feel, we must also be prepared to elaborate on why we feel that way.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

We are also looking at sourcing savings, from where we source, who we source from, how many of our operating companies source a particular item and renegotiating contracts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Becker said he’s focused on evidence of price gouging in California specifically, where a small handful of refineries serve a relatively isolated market with limited alternatives for sourcing fuel.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

It’s easy to imagine Netflix sourcing TV shows and films made from all over the world, with less reliance on California.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

He said he accepted the denials of Associated Newspaper journalists "who gave lawful explanations for the sourcing of the disputed articles and incidents".

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

Her people, of several shapes and sizes, sourcing from an amalgam of many human races of divergent strains from several near-forgotten planets, all sighed together, like a little wind of sadness.

From The Dark Goddess by Richard Sharpe Shaver

Related Words

• authority
• cause
• expert
• origin