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• stour
  stour

  noun
• 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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stour Stour

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 Brown, George Douglas

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 Munro, Neil

Of such wisdom have I nought, and know little but of hard hitting and how to keep the face to the foe in the stour.

From The Sundering Flood by Morris, May

He lighted at Lord Durie’s door, And there he knocked maist manfullie; And up and spake Lord Durie sae stour, “What tidings, thou stalwart groom, to me?”

From Border Raids and Reivers by Borland, Robert

"I'm no settin' up a stour, am I?" the girl said.

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 15, No. 89, May, 1875 by Various

The famous work depicts a rural scene near the River Stour in Flatford, but it was actually painted in Constable's London studio.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 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

Only the River Stour in Suffolk and the River Thames in Oxfordshire had acceptable levels, while water quality at the 12 others was rated "poor" and people advised not to swim.

From BBC ● May 15, 2026

Manningtree beach in Essex, the River Cam at Sheep's Green in Cambridge and the River Stour at Sudbury in Suffolk are among 27 chosen in England.

From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2024

It is pleasantly situated near the confluence of the upper branches of the river Stour, over one of which there is a bridge.

From Curiosities of Great Britain: England and Wales Delineated Vol.1-11 Historical, Entertaining & Commercial; Alphabetically Arranged. 11 Volume set. by Dugdale, Thomas Cantrell