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
3
a
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
1
a
: something sour
… they assimilated many Anglo-American sweet pickles and began adding more sugar to their sours.—
William Woys Weaver
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
soured; souring; sours
: to become sour
: to make sour
Synonyms
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.
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Recent Examples on the WebAbha Bhattarai, Washington Post, 19 Nov. 2023
Vegemite’s high-profile detractors include the singers Jason Derulo, an American, and Niall Horan, an Irishman who was once part of the boy band One Direction, who both made sour faces after being fed it on live television.
—Natasha Frost Abigail Varney, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2023
Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion last April, a deal that turned sour soon after because of a major downturn in the stock market that hit tech companies — like Twitter and Musk’s Tesla — especially hard.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2023
One reason why investors are brushing off the sour reading?
—Hannah Miao, WSJ, 10 Nov. 2023
Newsom’s negative job rating also surely results, in large part, from the voters’ current sour mood that tends to settle on politicians in high office, President Biden included.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2023
Reflecting on the dissonance between many of the economy’s fundamentals and consumers’ sour outlook, Richardson was circumspect.
—Christine Romans, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2023
The former president’s showing in these head-to-head polls appears to stem in equal measure from Mr. Biden’s vulnerabilities, Mr. Trump’s strength and the sour mood of the electorate and its pessimism about the economy.
—Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 6 Nov. 2023
Both feature an intensely flavorful broth, made by boiling brisket with fresh pineapple, Asian pear, apple, lemon, daikon, and assorted alliums, and are finished with big hunks of slushy ice, which soak up the sweet, sour, savory liquid like snow cones.
—Hannah Goldfield, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2023
Amanda Ogle, Southern Living, 22 Nov. 2023
But just as importantly, the school bolsters its curriculum with activities (largely conducted in Spanish) such as dinners, market outings, surfing expeditions and even evenings spent mixing pisco sours and other cocktails using the country’s national spirit.
—Matthew Kronsberg, WSJ, 25 Oct. 2023
The recalled Cocco candy contains two fluid ounces in flavors including sour strawberry, sour tutti frutti and sour cola.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2023
Second Chance Beer also scored twice, taking bronze medals for Fistful of Gummies, a fruited sour, and Tabula Rasa, a robust porter.
—Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Oct. 2023
Is this part of why, in so many cultures, no meal is complete without a touch of sour?
—Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2023
The salty complexity of pickle juice pairs excellently with some of the most classic cocktails including the bloody Mary, dirty martini (just lose the olive juice), whisky sour, caesar, or even margarita.
—Christina Manian, Rdn, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Sep. 2023
Vice Beer, an east Vancouver brewery and taproom that crafts aggressive IPAs along with smoothie sours, pastry stouts and lagers, on Thursday will open A Little Vice, a cozy but colorfully cool taproom in a resurgent downtown Vancouver.
—oregonlive, 12 July 2023
That means carrying light and dark beers, sours, lagers, fruit beers and more inside the small taproom.
—Endia Fontanez, The Arizona Republic, 13 Apr. 2023
Carolyn Van Houten, Washington Post, 19 Nov. 2023
When bilateral relations began to sour in the past few years, members of the Chinese public started to demand the return of giant pandas.
—Didi Tang, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2023
As the mood within Facebook had begun to sour over the years, some badge posts began to take on a more mutinous tone.
—Jeff Horwitz, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2023
But instead of souring their interest in one another, the polite bickering ignites a long-lasting romance.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 31 Oct. 2023
Head coach Kevin O'Connell made that announcement during his post-game comments, which soured the feeling of a third straight win for Minnesota.
—Scott Thompson, Fox News, 29 Oct. 2023
This prejudiced approach – further soured by industry rules prohibiting on-screen kissing between Chinese and white actors – dogged the actor throughout her career.
—Erin Douglass, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Oct. 2023
Her career famously soured in later years amid a series of misfortunes and on-set disputes.
—Nigel Smith, Peoplemag, 7 Nov. 2023
Colombia’s relationship with Israel has soured in recent weeks after its president compared Israel’s actions in Gaza to those of Nazis and refused to condemn Hamas’s attack, prompting Israel to suspend security exports there.
—Kelsey Ables, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2023
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Adjective
The economy is booming, but inflation continues to sour Americans
Similarly, at Michigan State University, the share of undergraduate students securing full-time jobs within six months of graduation fell last year, to 56 percent from 62 percent the year before.
—Abha Bhattarai, Washington Post, 19 Nov. 2023
Vegemite’s high-profile detractors include the singers Jason Derulo, an American, and Niall Horan, an Irishman who was once part of the boy band One Direction, who both made sour faces after being fed it on live television.
—Natasha Frost Abigail Varney, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2023
Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion last April, a deal that turned sour soon after because of a major downturn in the stock market that hit tech companies — like Twitter and Musk’s Tesla — especially hard.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2023
One reason why investors are brushing off the sour reading?
—Hannah Miao, WSJ, 10 Nov. 2023
Newsom’s negative job rating also surely results, in large part, from the voters’ current sour mood that tends to settle on politicians in high office, President Biden included.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2023
Reflecting on the dissonance between many of the economy’s fundamentals and consumers’ sour outlook, Richardson was circumspect.
—Christine Romans, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2023
The former president’s showing in these head-to-head polls appears to stem in equal measure from Mr. Biden’s vulnerabilities, Mr. Trump’s strength and the sour mood of the electorate and its pessimism about the economy.
—Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 6 Nov. 2023
Both feature an intensely flavorful broth, made by boiling brisket with fresh pineapple, Asian pear, apple, lemon, daikon, and assorted alliums, and are finished with big hunks of slushy ice, which soak up the sweet, sour, savory liquid like snow cones.
—Hannah Goldfield, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2023
Noun
The set includes sugar cookies, caramels, Champagne bubbles, cordials, cookie dough, sours, and cookie bites.
Price at time of publish: $30
Hanukkah memories are full of latkes frying on the stove, dreidels spinning on the floor, sweet jelly doughnuts, and the menorah glowing in the background.
—Amanda Ogle, Southern Living, 22 Nov. 2023
But just as importantly, the school bolsters its curriculum with activities (largely conducted in Spanish) such as dinners, market outings, surfing expeditions and even evenings spent mixing pisco sours and other cocktails using the country’s national spirit.
—Matthew Kronsberg, WSJ, 25 Oct. 2023
The recalled Cocco candy contains two fluid ounces in flavors including sour strawberry, sour tutti frutti and sour cola.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2023
Second Chance Beer also scored twice, taking bronze medals for Fistful of Gummies, a fruited sour, and Tabula Rasa, a robust porter.
—Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Oct. 2023
Is this part of why, in so many cultures, no meal is complete without a touch of sour?
—Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2023
The salty complexity of pickle juice pairs excellently with some of the most classic cocktails including the bloody Mary, dirty martini (just lose the olive juice), whisky sour, caesar, or even margarita.
—Christina Manian, Rdn, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Sep. 2023
Vice Beer, an east Vancouver brewery and taproom that crafts aggressive IPAs along with smoothie sours, pastry stouts and lagers, on Thursday will open A Little Vice, a cozy but colorfully cool taproom in a resurgent downtown Vancouver.
—oregonlive, 12 July 2023
That means carrying light and dark beers, sours, lagers, fruit beers and more inside the small taproom.
—Endia Fontanez, The Arizona Republic, 13 Apr. 2023
Verb
The emerging choices for the 2024 race further sour the mood.
—Carolyn Van Houten, Washington Post, 19 Nov. 2023
When bilateral relations began to sour in the past few years, members of the Chinese public started to demand the return of giant pandas.
—Didi Tang, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2023
As the mood within Facebook had begun to sour over the years, some badge posts began to take on a more mutinous tone.
—Jeff Horwitz, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2023
But instead of souring their interest in one another, the polite bickering ignites a long-lasting romance.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 31 Oct. 2023
Head coach Kevin O'Connell made that announcement during his post-game comments, which soured the feeling of a third straight win for Minnesota.
—Scott Thompson, Fox News, 29 Oct. 2023
This prejudiced approach – further soured by industry rules prohibiting on-screen kissing between Chinese and white actors – dogged the actor throughout her career.
—Erin Douglass, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Oct. 2023
Her career famously soured in later years amid a series of misfortunes and on-set disputes.
—Nigel Smith, Peoplemag, 7 Nov. 2023
Colombia’s relationship with Israel has soured in recent weeks after its president compared Israel’s actions in Gaza to those of Nazis and refused to condemn Hamas’s attack, prompting Israel to suspend security exports there.
—Kelsey Ables, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2023
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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
Phrases Containing sour
Dictionary Entries Near sour
Cite this Entry
“Sour.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sour. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
sour
1 of 3 adjective1
: 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 noun1
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
Nglish: Translation of sour for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of sour for Arabic Speakers
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