Meaning & use
pour out
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Meanings
verbphrasal verb
To tip a container so that liquid flows out of it, or to serve a drink this way.
Grammar: Takes an object, which can come before or after 'out': pour out the tea or pour the tea out.
Patterns
- pour something out
- pour out something for someone
She poured out a cup of tea for each of us.
He picked up the bucket and poured out the dirty water.
Please pour out the milk before it spoils.
verbphrasal verb
To come out in a large, fast flow, as water, smoke, people or sound.
Grammar: No object: the crowd poured out of the stadium.
Patterns
- pour out of something
Smoke was pouring out of the broken window.
Fans poured out of the stadium after the match.
Music poured out from the open doors of the cafe.
verbphrasal verbfigurative
To express your feelings or thoughts freely and at length.
Grammar: Takes an object such as feelings: pour out your troubles.
Patterns
- pour out your heart to someone
- pour out your feelings
She poured out her worries to her best friend over dinner.
He poured his heart out in a long letter.
After the loss, the family poured out their grief.
Word forms
| third person singular | pours out |
|---|---|
| past tense | poured out |
| past participle | poured out |
| -ing form | pouring out |
Common combinations
- pour out a drink
- He poured out a drink for each guest.
- pour out your heart
- She poured out her heart to the counselor.
- pour out of
- Commuters poured out of the train.
- pour out emotion
- The singer poured out emotion in every line.
- pour out the contents
- He poured out the contents of the bag on the table.
Synonyms and how they differ
- empty
- Empty focuses on removing everything from a container, while pour out emphasizes the flow.
- serve
- Serve is more general for giving food or drink, while pour out is specific to liquids.
- stream out
- Stream out describes steady movement of people or things, while pour out suggests a heavier, faster flow.
- unburden
- Unburden is formal and about relieving yourself of worry, while pour out is more everyday.
Opposites
Word family
- pour verb
- to make liquid flow from a container
- pouring adjective
- raining heavily
- outpouring noun
- a strong expression or large flow
- downpour noun
- a heavy rain
Commonly confused: pour out or pore over?
pour out vs pore over
Pore over means to study something closely. It sounds like pour but is unrelated.
Practice
After weeks of silence, she finally ___ her feelings to her sister.
Choose one answer.
Pour out feelings means to express them freely. The other particles do not give this meaning in this context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pour out”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.