Skip to definition.
Get the FREE one-click dictionary software for Windows or the iPhone/iPad and Android apps


Adjective: sour (sourer,sourest)  saw(-u)r
  1. One of the four basic taste sensations; like the taste of vinegar or lemons
     
  2. Having a sharp biting taste
     
  3. Smelling of fermentation or staleness
    - rancid
     
  4. In an unpalatable state
    "sour milk";
    - off, turned
     
  5. Inaccurate in pitch
    "a sour note";
    - false, off-key
     
  6. Showing a brooding ill humour
    "a sour temper";
    - dark, dour, glowering, glum, moody, morose, saturnine, sullen
Verb: sour  saw(-u)r
  1. Go sour or spoil
    "The milk has soured";
    - turn, ferment, work
     
  2. Make sour or more sour
    "For example, acidulate fresh cream by adding lemon juice to produce sour cream";
    - acidify, acidulate, acetify
Noun: sour  saw(-u)r
  1. A cocktail made of a liquor (especially whiskey or gin) mixed with lemon or lime juice and sugar
     
  2. The taste experience when vinegar or lemon juice is taken into the mouth
    - sourness, tartness
     
  3. The property of being acidic
    - sourness, acidity

Derived forms: souring, sours, soured, sourest, sourer

See also: acerb, acerbic, acetose, acetous, acid, acidic, acidulent, acidulous, astringent, dry, ill-natured, ill-smelling, inharmonious, malodorous, malodourous [Brit, Cdn, non-standard], minging [Brit, informal], pongy [Brit, informal], soured, sourish, stinky [informal], subacid, tangy, tart, tasty, unharmonious, unpleasant-smelling, vinegarish, vinegary, whiffy [Brit, informal]

Type of: change state, change taste, cocktail, gustatory perception, gustatory sensation, taste, taste perception, taste property, taste sensation, turn

Antonym: sweet

Encyclopedia: Sour, Robert