Pour (noun, as in a continuous flow or quantity) refers to the act of transferring liquid from one container to another, typically described by verbs like pour, and can also denote the amount that is poured. In everyday use, it signals the movement of liquid and is often preceded by a determiner or quantifier (a pour, several pours). This entry emphasizes pronunciation and usage, especially the vowel quality and stress patterns in connected speech.
- You often misrepresent the vowel as /poʊ/ or /pɔɚ/. Focus on the pure back unrounded /ɔː/ and keep the mouth relatively open. - Some learners drop or soften the /r/ in non-rhotic contexts. Ensure the final /r/ is audible in rhotic accents; in non-rhotic speech, maintain a trailing vowel without hard /r/ but still convey the r-coloring when appropriate. - Tendency to start with a strong burst then stop; practice a smooth release from /p/ into /ɔː/. Use gradual timing to avoid clipping. - In rapid speech, the vowel can flatten toward /ɔ/ or be reduced; practice slow, then escalate to natural speed, keeping the vowel stable.
"I watched the pour of the water into the glass."
"The bartender prepared a generous pour for the customer."
"A steady pour is essential when filling the carafe."
"The pour slowed as the bottle neared empty, letting the last drops fall."
Pour comes from Middle English pouren, from Old French pourer, from Latin fundere ‘to pour, to shed’ (see fund). The word’s core sense—transferring liquid from one vessel to another—dates back to early Middle English usage and is tied to the action of causing liquid to flow. The noun form pour, meaning a quantity poured, emerged as the verb-based nominalization over time, paralleling other activity nouns formed from verbs. Across languages, the concept of pouring has common roots in verbs denoting to shed or to flow, with the English meaning solidifying in the later medieval period as standardized lexemes for service, beverages, and kitchen tasks. First written attestations appear in household and trade contexts, where the act of pouring was a routine domestic skill and commercial practice, later expanding into metaphorical uses like “a pour of rain” or “a pouring crowd.” The word’s pronunciation preserved the long vowel in many dialects, while spelling kept the modern short o representation due to historical consonant and vowel shifts. In sum, pour originated as a verb meaning to cause liquid to flow and gradually accrued the noun sense for the action or amount, embedded in everyday English since the medieval era.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Pour" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Pour" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Pour"
-ore sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce as /pɔːr/ in US, UK, and AU. The initial consonant is a voiceless bilabial stop /p/, followed by a back open-mid vowel /ɔː/ with slight rounding, and a rhotic ending /r/ in rhotic accents. Place lips rounded and relaxed, tongue low-mid, and finish with a light, controlled /r/. In connected speech, the /r/ may couple with the next syllable but stays pronounced in US and AU. Audio references: listen to standard pronunciations on Cambridge/Oxford, or Forvo for native speakers.
Two common errors: (1) Raising the vowel to /oʊ/ as in ‘go’ instead of the pure /ɔː/; keep the longer, open-mid back vowel, not a diphthong. (2) Dropping the /r/ in non-rhotic contexts; ensure you pronounce the final /r/ in rhotic accents. Practicing minimal pairs like pour/poor/pore helps fix vowel height and rhoticity. Use a relaxed lip posture and a steady /p/ release. Recording yourself helps catch drift toward /pɔː/ or /poʊ/ and erred rhotacization.
In US English, /pɔːr/ with rhotic /r/ and a full, dark /ɔː/ vowel; in many UK accents, /pɔː/ can be non-rhotic in some varieties—almost silent /r/ at end; Australian typically /pɔː/ with clear /r/ in careful speech but weaker in casual speech. Vowel length and quality vary, but the primary feature is rhotic vs non-rhotic realization and subtle vowel rounding differences. Practice with accent-specific audio to hear subtle shifts in /ɔː/ and /r/.
The difficulty comes from the mid-back vowel /ɔː/ which can approach /ɒ/ or /ɔ/ across dialects, plus the /r/ in rhotic accents and the speed of speech causing vowel consonant blending. Speakers often mispronounce as /poʊr/ or omit the /r/. Focus on maintaining a calm mouth posture and an accurate back-vowel with a hard /p/ release, then add a distinct /r/ or a non-rhotic closure depending on the dialect.
Pour has no silent letters in standard varieties; the letters p, o, u, r each contribute to the phoneme /pɔːr/. Some non-rhotic speakers may reduce or slightly weaken the final /r/; however, the /r/ sound is still present in pronunciation, especially in rhotic accents. The challenge is not a silent letter but the vowel quality and rhoticity.
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