/pɔɹz/
Say it backPours is a verb meaning to cause liquid to flow from a container, typically by tilting it. It can also be used metaphorically to describe things that flow in a continuous stream. In everyday use, it often appears with liquids but can extend to figurative flows of events.
"She pours water into the glass until it’s full."
"The rain pours down so hard we stayed indoors."
"He pours his heart out in the letter to his sister."
Pronounce pours as /pɔːrz/ in non-rhotic accents and /pɔːrz/ with rhoticity, depending on the speaker. In US and Canadian contexts you’ll hear rhotic /ɹ/ coloring: /pɔɹz/. Place the lips in a rounded starting shape, then glide into a mid back vowel, and finish with a voiced /z/. The final sound is a clear voiced alveolar fricative. Stress is on the syllable as a single unit (monosyllabic). Audio reference: imagine a smooth, single-flow motion as in pouring liquid.
Common mistakes include misplacing the vowel as /pɔːz/ with lax or reduced vowel, producing a short vowel like /pɔrz/ or treating the final as /s/ rather than /z/. Another is devoicing the final /z/ to /s/ in rapid speech, which sounds like pours becomes pours without voice. To fix: ensure your lips start rounded, then hold a long mid back vowel before introducing the final voiced /z/. Practice with voice-on-glide and record yourself.
In US English, pours is typically /pɔɹz/ or /pɔɹz/ with rhotics; the vowel is a mid back rounded vowel, and the r-coloring is pronounced. In UK English, it’s often /pɔːz/ or /pɔːrz/ with non-rhotic variants where r is not pronounced after a vowel, yielding a longer open back vowel. In Australian English, it tends to be /pɔːz/ or /pɔːɹz/ with a slight rhotic-ish quality depending on region, often with a centralized or unrounded variant. The final /z/ remains voiced in most contexts.
The difficulty lies in the transition from a mid back vowel to a voiced alveolar fricative /z/ while maintaining a smooth, unbroken airflow. Some speakers will inadvertently voice the final as /s/ or omit voicing, leading to confusion with 'pors.' Mastering the exact tongue position for /ɔ/ plus the alveolar fricative requires careful jaw relaxation and precise voicing. Practicing with minimal pairs that contrast /z/ with /s/ can help establish a clean endpoint.
Tip: keep the mouth rounded and closed around the mid back vowel for a longer duration before the /z/. Don't prematurely close your teeth or release into a tight /t/ or /d/ chunk. The key is a steady voice onset before the /z/ and a slight, but not exaggerated, lip rounding as you approach the alveolar fricative. Record yourself saying, then compare to a native speaker via YouGlish to ensure your /ɔː/ length and /z/ voicing match.
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US: rhotic coloring with /ɹ/; moderate lip rounding; the vowel /ɔ/ is often closer to /ɔː/ in many speakers. UK: non-rhotic; /ɔː/ longer and tenser, less lip rounding; some regional variants use a short /ɒ/ in strong accents. AU: /ɔː/ with slight rhotic tilt; more centralized than UK; often less post-vocalic r coloring. Use IPA benchmarks to shape vowel length and quality, and practice with minimal pairs to highlight rhotic vs non-rhotic behavior.
The verb pour comes from the Old English purian, related to the Latin fundere meaning to pour or to cast. The sense of moving liquid in a continuous stream is ancient, with early Germanic cousins forming similar terms. In Middle English, pour was used in literal sense of liquids flowing, often in the context of vessels and vessels’ contents. Over time, its figurative uses expanded to describe non-liquid flows: information, emotions, or crowds moving in abundance. The noun and verb senses consolidate in modern English with the simple form pour(s): present tense for third-person singular. The first known written attestations appear in Old English texts, but the exact earliest source is not well-documented due to the era’s sparse record-keeping. Today, pour remains a basic lexical item in everyday speech, frequently collocating with verbs like “pour in,” “pour out,” and “pouring.”
💡 Etymology tip: Understanding word origins can help you remember pronunciation patterns and recognize related words in the same language family.
Help others use "pours" correctly by contributing grammar tips, common mistakes, and context guidance.
💡 These words have similar meanings to "pours" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "pours" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "pours"
-res sounds
-urs sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
🎵 Rhyme tip: Practicing with rhyming words helps you master similar sound patterns and improves your overall pronunciation accuracy.
