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  Stour

  noun

  a river in S England, in Kent, rising in the Weald and flowing N to the North Sea: separates the Isle of Thanet from the mainland

stour

American  

[stoor] / stʊər /

noun

1. British Dialect.

   1. tumult; confusion.

   2. a storm.

2. British Dialect. blowing dust or a deposit of dust.

3. Archaic. armed combat; battle.

4. British Dialect. a time of tumult.

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Stour ¹ British  

/ staʊə /

noun

1. Also called: Great Stour. a river in S England, in Kent, rising in the Weald and flowing N to the North Sea: separates the Isle of Thanet from the mainland

2. any of several smaller rivers in England

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stour ² British  

/ staʊə, stuːr /

noun

1. turmoil or conflict

2. dust; a cloud of dust

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Etymology

Origin of stour

1250–1300; Middle English < Old French estour battle < Germanic; akin to storm

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stour Stour

Wee, modest, crimson-tippèd flower, Thou'st met me in an evil hour; For I must crush amongst the stour Thy slender stem.

From The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare by Henry Nicholson Ellacombe

Of a sooth stiff was the stour, for the Barons and theirs were hardy men and of great prowess, and were three to Sir Godrick's one.

From The Sundering Flood by May Morris

Inneraora in the stour in her reputation as well as in her tenements.

From John Splendid The Tale of a Poor Gentleman, and the Little Wars of Lorn by Neil Munro

Kyng Estmere threwe the harpe asyde, And swith he drew his brand; And Estmere he, and Adler yonge, Right stiffe in stour can stand.

From Bevis The Story of a Boy by Richard Jefferies

And aye an’ while we nearer draw To whaur the kirkton lies alaw, Mair neebours, comin’ saft an’ slaw Frae here an’ there, The thicker thrang the gate an’ caw The stour in air.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 14 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson

Helicopters, dog units and members of the public began scouring the area, close to the River Stour on the Suffolk-Essex border.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

Helicopters, dog units and members of the public had been scouring the area, close to the River Stour on the Suffolk-Essex border.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Helicopters, dog units and members of the public had been scouring the area, close to the estuary of the River Stour on the Essex border.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

During his career he produced many paintings of the Suffolk countryside and around the River Stour, which helped give the area the name, Constable Country.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

But the distances suit none of these sites, and no Roman remains have any where been found, between the Stour and Castor, sufficient to justify an alteration of the numerals.

From Old English Chronicles by Various

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