pour

American  

[pawr, pohr] / pɔr, poʊr /

verb (used with object)

1. to send (a liquid, fluid, or anything in loose particles) flowing or falling, as from one container to another, or into, over, or on something.

   to pour a glass of milk; to pour water on a plant.

2. to emit or propel, especially continuously or rapidly.

   The hunter poured bullets into the moving object.

3. to produce or utter in or as in a stream or flood (often followed byout ).

   to pour out one's troubles to a friend.

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verb (used without object)

1. to issue, move, or proceed in great quantity or number.

   Crowds poured from the stadium after the game.

2. to flow forth or along; stream.

   Floodwaters poured over the embankments.

3. to rain heavily (often used impersonally with it as subject).

   It was pouring, but fortunately we had umbrellas.

noun

1. the act of pouring.

2. an abundant or continuous flow or stream.

   a pour of insults.

3. a heavy fall of rain.

4. a wine or other beverage.

   a list of the best pours.

pour British  

/ pɔː /

verb

1. to flow or cause to flow in a stream

2. (tr) to issue, emit, etc, in a profuse way

3. Also: pour with rain.  to rain heavily

   it's pouring down outside

4. (intr) to move together in large numbers; swarm

5. (intr) to serve tea, coffee, etc

   shall I pour?

6. events, esp unfortunate ones, come together or occur in rapid succession

7. informal to be unenthusiastic about or discourage

8. to try to calm a quarrel, etc

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noun

1. a pouring, downpour, etc

pour Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing pour

• it never rains but it pours

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Usage

The verbs pour and pore are sometimes confused: she poured cream over her strudel; she pored (not poured ) over the manuscript

Other Word Forms

• interpour
  verb (used with object)
• pourability
  noun
• pourable
  adjective
• pourer
  noun
• pouringly
  adverb
• repour
  verb (used with object)
• unpourable
  adjective
• unpoured
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of pour

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English pouren; origin uncertain

Explanation

To pour is to flow rapidly in a steady stream, or to cause something to flow. You can pour good coffee into a cup and pour bad coffee down the drain. You can pour your heart out, pour a cup of orange juice into or out of a cup, or watch the rain pour down while a poem pours from your lips. A jet of water may pour from a spout. Listen to how the water pours in this poem from Lewis Carroll's book, Alice in Wonderland: “How doth the little crocodile / Improve his shining tail, / And pour the waters of the Nile, / On every golden scale!”

Example Sentences

Opposition lawmaker Sonia Sinani said it will actually make things worse and "pour gasoline on the flames" of the street protests.

From Barron's • May 27, 2026

As governments and companies pour billions of dollars into the pursuit of AI general intelligence, as a society we should ask ourselves what it means to be intelligent.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026

Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil, add ground chicken and cook until almost browned, then pour in tomato sauce and let everything simmer.

From Salon • May 22, 2026

It has a special sauce that you pour on top of it.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

I pick a cereal, pour it in the bowl, and eat fast, barely bothering to chew.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

Related Words

• cascade
• discharge
• drain
• flood
• flow
• gush
• rush
• spew
• spill
• splash
• stream
• swarm