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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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stour Stour

Now up and ride, Laird Eglinton, That was sae stout in stour, That when it rainit cats and dogs, Aye jousted through the shower.

From Punch - Volume 25 (Jul-Dec 1853) by Various

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

Was not well blest, gammer, to 'scape that stour?

From Gammer Gurton's Needle by Mr. S. Mr. of Art

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 A Lowden Sabbath Morn by Robert Louis Stevenson

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

One of its founders and trustees, John Hall, said the group had been sampling water in the River Stour for three years and had adapted their process for the children.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

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

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

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

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