source

[ sawrs, sohrs ]

/ sɔrs, soʊrs /

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See synonyms for: source / sourced / sources on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

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

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

the person or business making interest or dividend payments.

a manufacturer or supplier.

Archaic. a natural spring or fountain.

verb (used with object), sourced, sourcing.

to give or trace the source for: The research paper was not accurately sourced. The statement was sourced to the secretary of state.

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.

to contract a manufacturer or supplier: Many large companies are now sourcing overseas.

to seek information about or consider possible options, available personnel, or the like: a job recruiter who was merely sourcing.

OTHER WORDS FOR source

1 supplier, originator.

3 authority, reference.

See synonyms for source on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of source

1300–50; Middle English sours (noun) <Old French sors (masculine), sourse, source (feminine), noun use of past participle of sourdre<Latin surgere to spring up or forth

OTHER WORDS FROM source

sourceful, adjectivesource·ful·ness, nounsourceless, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH source

sauce, source

Words nearby source

soup up, soupy, sour, sourball, sourberry, source, source book, source code, source document, source language, source material

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use source in a sentence

Together, these eyes in the sky offered enough information to track down the flare’s source.
Exploding neutron star proves to be energy standout of the cosmos|Lisa Grossman|February 12, 2021|Science News For Students
Other Stonehenge stones, such as the iconic, massive boulders known as sarsen stones, came from local sources.
Stonehenge may have had roots in a Welsh stone circle|Bruce Bower|February 12, 2021|Science News
Companies will have the real thing, straight from the source.
Can privacy coexist with technology that reads and changes brain activity?|Laura Sanders|February 11, 2021|Science News
The pandemic didn’t create this source of anxiety in teens, but it might be making it more relentless.
The loneliness of an interrupted adolescence|Ellen McCarthy|February 11, 2021|Washington Post

The steady source allows Metro to sell bonds, get large sums of money upfront for projects and pay back the bonds with the dedicated subsidy streams.
Metro seeks bond sales to raise $360 million for capital projects|Justin George|February 10, 2021|Washington Post
Like many trans users, Transartist often gets used as a source of information more than anything else.
Grindr’s Trans Dating Problem|David Levesley|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
According to a Yemeni intelligence source, Saïd met with the notorious U.S. preacher Anwar al Awlaki.
France Kills Charlie Hebdo Murderers|Nico Hines|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Jettison your lawyers as a source of prison-yard guidance, Abramoff said.
Abramoff’s Advice for Virginia’s New Jailhouse Guv|Tim Mak, Jackie Kucinich|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
She claims the FBI tried to enlist her as a cooperating source in their investigation.
An Informant, a Missing American, and Juarez’s House of Death: Inside the 12-Year Cold Case of David Castro|Bill Conroy|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was getting to create jokes at the source, and to get to hang out with comedians.
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The old earl's property, the source of his wealth, as from his title the reader will have shrewdly guessed, was in collieries.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
An extraordinary eruption of mount Vesuvius commenced, which in ten days had advanced ten miles from its original source.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
That Lawrence, whom he looked upon almost as a son, should take up arms against the South was to him a source of endless regret.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
From this one source of misery, where was a promise or a chance of a final rescue?
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
Their usual source is the deeper layers of the urinary tract, especially of the bladder.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd

British Dictionary definitions for source

source

/ (sɔːs) /

noun

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 risethe source of the Nile

a person, group, etc, that creates, issues, or originates somethingthe source of a complaint

any person, book, organization, etc, from which information, evidence, etc, is obtained
(as modifier)source material

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

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

at source at the point of origin

verb

to determine the source of a news report or story

(tr foll by from) to originate from

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

Word Origin for source

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

source

OTHER WORDS FOR source

Origin of source

OTHER WORDS FROM source

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH source

Words nearby source

Words related to source

How to use source in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for source

Word Origin for source