1
: being, inducing, or marked by the one of the five basic taste sensations that is produced chiefly by acids and is characteristic of lemon juice
sour pickles
compare bitter entry 1 sense 1a, salty entry 1 sense 1b, sweet entry 1 sense 1, umami entry 2
2
a(1)
: having the acid taste or smell of or as if of fermentation : turned
sour milk
(2)
: of or relating to fermentation
b
: smelling or tasting of decay : rancid, rotten
sour breath
c(1)
: bad, wrong
a project gone sour
(2)
: hostile, disenchanted
went sour on Marxism
3
b
c
: not up to the usual, expected, or standard quality or pitch
4
: acid in reaction
used especially of soil
5
: containing malodorous sulfur compounds
used especially of petroleum products
sourish adjective
sourly adverb
sourness noun

sour

2 of 3

noun

1
a
: something sour
… they assimilated many Anglo-American sweet pickles and began adding more sugar to their sours.William Woys Weaver
b
: the taste sensation produced chiefly by acids compare bitter entry 2 sense 1b, salty entry 2, sweet entry 3 sense 2, umami entry 1
2
: a cocktail consisting of a liquor (such as whiskey), lemon or lime juice, sugar, and sometimes ice

sour

3 of 3

verb

soured; souring; sours

intransitive verb

: to become sour

transitive verb

: to make sour

Examples of sour in a Sentence

Adjective The milk had turned sour. He made a sour face. Verb Her disposition has soured in recent years. Jealousy has soured their relationship. His experiences have soured him. The team's victory was soured by an injury to one of their best players.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
If there’s one dish here that’ll become San Sabino’s version of Don Angie’s lasagna, it’s gotta be the shrimp parm—three huge head-on U5 prawns slathered in a sweet and sour arrabiata that packs the perfect tangy punch. Tori Latham, Robb Report, 13 Mar. 2024 China lends pandas out as a goodwill gesture and recalls them when international relations sour. Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Mar. 2024 The Hoosier state is fortunate to have several chocolate and candy factories that won't leave you feeling sour by the end of your trip. John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Mar. 2024 This could be a slightly sour smell or a slimy or gooey texture - both of which are indications that the rice may contain harmful bacteria. Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2024 Despite historically low unemployment, strong hiring, and gradually cooling inflation, consumers’ mood has remained sour. Irina Ivanova, Fortune, 27 Feb. 2024 Contra Fellow American retail behemoth Home Depot experienced a far more sour investor reaction to its own earnings report Tuesday. Derek Saul, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024 Everything the characters cannot share with one another is bound together here: the flailing and the dancing, the sorrow and the survival strategies, the sweet and the sour—like the blackberries one of their ancestors, Little Bird Woman, craves during her pregnancy. Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024 After the victim's date turned sour, police conducted surveillance on Wright before pulling her over for a traffic infraction and finding narcotics in her car. Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 3 Mar. 2024
Noun
Look for a special menu of six pisco sours, including bicoastal versions created by Natasha Bermudez of New York’s Llama Inn and Kevin Diedrich of San Francisco’s Pacific Cocktail Haven just for this event, and one with blood orange and cinnamon. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2024 Particularly in later episodes, when the dynamic between Malcolm X and his mentor sours and the civil rights leader eventually steps down from the Nation of Islam amid nasty accusations, Jones shows a treacherous side which audiences haven’t seen from him before. Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 21 Feb. 2024 Its earliest brews in the works include a peach sour, a tropical double IPA and a stout. Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 20 Feb. 2024 World & Nation Palestinians struggle as a brutal war sours business. Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2023 Niku also boasts an excellent wine and cocktail list (the pisco sours are particularly good). Sarah Souli, Travel + Leisure, 22 Jan. 2024 Guests adore the fresh seafood (seacat, barracuda, mahi mahi, tuna), local fruits, rum sours, and the scenery. Dwight Brown, Essence, 20 Dec. 2023 Palestinians struggle as a brutal war sours business. Suzy Exposito, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2023 And Coya, an outpost of a brand with a foothold in some of the world’s most prestigious capitals, offers top-quality Peruvian ceviches and pisco sours. Ann Abel, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023
Verb
China plans to send a new pair of giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo, renewing its longstanding gesture of friendship toward the United States after recalling nearly all the iconic bears on loan to U.S. zoos as relations soured between the two nations. CBS News, 22 Feb. 2024 The situation with Russell Wilson seemed to sour in Denver towards the end of the season. Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2024 But things soured in Cleveland late last year when he was quoted by cleveland.com three days before the final game of the regular season as saying the organization was more interested in individual accolades for fellow edge rusher Myles Garrett than winning. Brian Wacker, Baltimore Sun, 18 Jan. 2024 The blurring of fact and fiction seemed to go awry in The Rehearsal finale, where Fielder’s strange experiment appeared to emotionally scar a little boy, in an episode that soured what had been a bold and hilarious show until then. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 12 Jan. 2024 Some conservatives are pushing for more policy riders that Democrats have warned could sour the deal, and negotiators still have to hash out where the funding should go and write the bills. Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 10 Jan. 2024 But chat messages between executives from 2022 suggest that relations between the groups had soured because iSoon was late in paying Chengdu 404 more than 1 million yuan ($140,000). Aaron Schaffer, Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2024 China plans to send a new pair of giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo, renewing its longstanding gesture of friendship toward the United States after a recalling nearly all the iconic bears on loan to U.S. zoos as relations soured between the two nations. Julie Watson, Fortune Asia, 22 Feb. 2024 Incidents like those have begun to sour the public’s perception of totally driverless vehicles. Popular Science, 15 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sour.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Old English sūr; akin to Old High German sūr sour, Lithuanian sūrus salty

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of sour was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near sour

Cite this Entry

“Sour.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sour. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sour

1 of 3 adjective
1
: having or being an acid or tart taste that is one of the four taste sensations compare bitter sense 1, salt entry 3 sense 1b, sweet entry 1 sense 1b
2
a
: having become acid through spoiling
sour milk
b
: indicating decay : putrid
a sour odor
3
: unpleasant, disagreeable
a sour look
played a sour note
4
: acid in reaction
sour soil
sourly adverb
sourness noun

sour

2 of 3 noun
1
a
: something sour
b
: the basic taste sensation produced by acid stimuli
2
: a cocktail made with liquor, lemon or lime juice, sugar, and sometimes soda water

sour

3 of 3 verb
: to become or make sour

Medical Definition

sour

1 of 2 adjective
: causing, characterized by, or being the one of the four basic taste sensations that is produced chiefly by acids compare bitter, salt entry 2 sense 2, sweet entry 1
sourness noun

sour

2 of 2 noun
: the primary taste sensation produced by acid stimuli

More from Merriam-Webster on sour

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