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:
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
Surveys say Americans are in a funk, even though their sour mood doesn’t match up with what major indicators say about how the U.S. economy is performing, The Wall Street Journal’s Justin Lahart writes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 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
Nhamo imagined the sour, rich taste of maheu.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Reflecting more recent tastes, the Charts Company has also published a list of the most-streamed albums of the 2020s, led by Olivia Rodrigo's Sour.
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
We don’t have to talk much, cuz we know the drill: Snickers, Milky Way, Now and Later, M&M’s, Sour Patch Kids, Twizzlers.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
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
Compared with punchier, sourer, more cynical sitcoms—from All in the Family to Seinfeld to The Office—that found humor in humanity’s bad behavior, Friends was smiley and conflict-averse to the point of being featherweight.
From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2014
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
Stull’s face grew sourer: “Can’t you wait till she gets her decree?”
From The Dark Star by William Dodge Stevens
"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
Perhaps the sourest note came from ABC with word that it’s canceling “Nashville” after four seasons.
From Seattle Times ● May 13, 2016
"Morgans" does bear the distinction of boasting the sourest cast ever assembled outside of a Lars Von Trier production.
From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2009
Surely, it might soften the heart of the sourest enemy of the stage to read the spirit in which this family met the long-continued crosses of their professional life.
From Great Men and Famous Women, Vol. 8 A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History by Charles F. (Charles Francis) Horne
As the mood of the nation sours on Silicon Valley’s vision for the future, Flock cameras and data centers have become persona non grata in several communities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 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
Renowned photographer Randy and his playwright husband Jack are vacationing on the Oregon coast, but their trip sours.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026
I wish I could take the words back as Soojin’s expression instantly sours.
From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan
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
Provisions for credit losses, money set aside to cover the risk of soured loans, totaled C$1.08 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Ramírez secured a large ransom payment, but the death of al-Azmarly seems to have soured the terrorist’s relationship with Libya’s dictator, Moammar Gadhafi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
The trading firm posted its worst month ever in July after bets at Leopold Aschenbrenner’s hedge fund soured.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 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
Japanese investors souring on Treasurys would add to upward pressure on yields, which move inversely to bond prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
“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
Major U.S. tech names are reporting their earnings next week, which could potentially turn the souring mood around.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
‘Oh, no, no. Other babies can tell you whether it’s gas or a pin, or milk souring on them. But he’s a real Silsbee, and they never do, you know.’
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
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.
