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  stour
• Stour
  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

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

Said he: "Thou seest I am rich in spending-silver, for I have been paid the ransom of three knights whom I took in sharp stour last autumn."

From The Sundering Flood by May Morris

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

They drave at sic a rate that when they dashed from this side o' Skeighan Drone the stour o' their career was rising at the far end.

From The House with the Green Shutters by George Douglas Brown

The King seeth that he may not depart without a stour.

From The High History of the Holy Graal by Sebastian Evans

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 estuary of the River Stour on the Essex border.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

A helicopter has been pictured flying over the scene, which is near the estuary of the River Stour and close to the Essex border.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

Essex County Fire & Rescue Service was called to a warehouse on Stour Road in Harwich at about 03:36 BST and about 35 firefighters had been sent.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Stepney wheel, 253 Stour River, 209 et seq.,

From Through East Anglia in a Motor Car by J. E. (James Edmund) Vincent

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