pour
UK /pɔː/ · US /poɹ/ verb, noun
Forms pours pouring poured
- verb (transitive) To cause (liquid, or liquid-like substance) to flow in a stream, either out of a container or into it. “pour water from a jug”
- verb (transitive, figurative) To send out as in a stream or a flood; to cause (an emotion) to come out; to cause to escape. “My teacher poured scorn on my attempts at writing.”
- verb (transitive) To send forth from, as in a stream; to discharge uninterruptedly.
- verb (intransitive) To flow, pass, or issue in a stream; to fall continuously and abundantly. “the rain poured down.”
- verb (impersonal) To rain hard. “It's pouring outside.”
- verb (intransitive) Of a beverage, to be on tap or otherwise available for serving to customers.
- verb (intransitive) To move in a throng, as a crowd. “The people poured out of the theater.”
- verb (transitive) To move (a drunk or unsteady person) into or out of a place or vehicle. “She poured him into a taxi and handed the driver the fare.”
- noun The act of pouring. “The bartender's inexpert pour left me with a pint of beer that was half foam.”
- noun Something, or an amount, poured.
- noun (colloquial) A downpour; a flood of precipitation.
Synonyms
spate sweep crowd throng shink skink swarm stream teem pullulate decant pour out pelt rain cats and dogs rain buckets
Etymology
From Middle English pouren (“to pour”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old Northern French purer (“to sift (grain), pour out (water)”), from Latin pūrō (“to purify”), from pūrus (“pure”). Compare Middle Dutch afpuren (“to pour off, drain”).
To pour displaced several Middle English verbs:
* schenchen, schenken (“to pour”), from Old English sċenċan (“to pour out”) and Old Norse skenkja, from Proto-Germanic *skankijaną. Compare dialectal English shink, skink.
* yeten, from Old English ġēotan (“to pour”), from Proto-Germanic *geutaną.
* birlen (“to pour, serve drink to”), from Old English byrelian (“to pour, serve drink to”).
* hellen (“to pour, pour out”), from Old Norse hella (“to pour out, incline”).
* temen (“to pour out, empty”), from Old Norse tœma (“to pour out, empty”). Compare archaic English teem.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Poor. [Obs.] Chaucer.
- verb To pore. [Obs.] Chaucer.
- verb To cause to flow in a stream, as a liquid or anything flowing like a liquid, either out of a vessel or into it; as, to pour water from a pail; to pour wine into a decanter; to pour oil upon the waters; to pour out sand or dust.
- verb To send forth as in a stream or a flood; to emit; to let escape freely or wholly.
Etymology [OE. pouren, of uncertain origin; cf. W. bwrw to cast, throw, shed, bwrw gwlaw to rain.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pour”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details