source

[ sawrs, sohrs ]
See synonyms for: sourcesourcedsources on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. any thing or place from which something comes, arises, or is obtained; origin: Which foods are sources of calcium?

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

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

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

  3. a manufacturer or supplier.

  4. Archaic. a natural spring or fountain.

verb (used with object),sourced, sourcing.
  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),sourced, sourcing.
  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.

Origin of source

1
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

Other words for source

Other words from source

  • sourceful, adjective
  • source·ful·ness, noun
  • sourceless, adjective

Words that may be confused with source

Words Nearby source

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use source in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for source

source

/ (sɔːs) /


noun
  1. the point or place from which something originates

    • a spring that forms the starting point of a stream; headspring

    • the area where the headwaters of a river rise: the source of the Nile

  1. a person, group, etc, that creates, issues, or originates something: the source of a complaint

    • any person, book, organization, etc, from which information, evidence, etc, is obtained

    • (as modifier): source material

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

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

  4. at source at the point of origin

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

  2. (tr foll by from) to originate from

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

Origin of source

1
C14: from Old French sors, from sourdre to spring forth, from Latin surgere to rise

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012