pour

/pɔː/

//pɔː// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"pour" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pour” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,085. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,085
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - To cause (liquid, or liquid-like substance) to flow in a stream, either out of a container or into it.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pour · pour · English

pour · rank #6,085 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,085
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pose

Nearest frequency peer: pose (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “pour”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “pour” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

pour vs PR
0% similar
pour vs PU
0% similar
pour vs put
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for pour
PropertyValue
Headwordpour
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pɔː/
Letters4
Frequency rank#6,085
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pour” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). pour lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around pour (IPA /pɔː/), averb. Corpus frequency is #6,085 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for pour, with forms such as "opur", "poru", and "pourr". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PR", "PU", "put", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 displ… The correct English form is pour, spelled P-O-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To cause (liquid, or liquid-like substance) to flow in a stream, either out of a container or into it.
  2. 2
    To send out as in a stream or a flood; to cause (an emotion) to come out; to cause to escape.
  3. 3
    To send forth from, as in a stream; to discharge uninterruptedly.
  4. 4
    To flow, pass, or issue in a stream; to fall continuously and abundantly.
  5. 5
    To rain hard.
  6. 6
    Of a beverage, to be on tap or otherwise available for serving to customers.
  7. 7
    To move in a throng, as a crowd.
  8. 8
    To move (a drunk or unsteady person) into or out of a place or vehicle.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how pour appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. pour water from a jug
  2. pour wine into a decanter

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.

Synonyms

shinkskink

This word in other languages

verter(Español)verser(Français)gießen(Deutsch)despejar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • opur
  • poru
  • pourr
  • ppour
  • puor

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pour - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

opur2poru2pourr1ppour1puor2
Edit distance from "pour"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pour"?
"pour" is spelled P-O-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is /pɔː/.
What does "pour" mean?
As a verb, "pour" means: To cause (liquid, or liquid-like substance) to flow in a stream, either out of a container or into it.
What words are commonly confused with "pour"?
"pour" is commonly confused with "PR", "PU", "put". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pour"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pour" is /pɔː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "pour"?
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 ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pour", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pose#6,084pine#6,080sang#6,094lung#6,070

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

array5 variantsurge5 variantsjets5 variantsmice5 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "pour". Here's where to go from here.

  • "pour" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "PR". View pair
  • 5 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #6,085 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list