Meaning & use
sourced
Last updated
“sourced” is a form of “source”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Having come from a stated place, supplier, or origin.
Grammar: Used after the verb be or before a noun: the beans are sourced from Kenya; fair-trade sourced coffee.
Patterns
- be sourced from something
- be sourced by someone
- locally/ethically sourced
All the timber used here is sourced from managed forests.
The article is well sourced, with every claim backed by a named expert.
They serve only locally sourced vegetables in the school canteen.
verbtransitive
Past tense and past participle of source: obtained something from a particular place or supplier.
Grammar: This is the -ed form of source, so it needs an object: she sourced the parts from a local firm.
Patterns
- sourced something from somewhere
- sourced something locally
We sourced the fabric from a small mill in Italy.
They had sourced most of the equipment second-hand.
By June she had sourced every ingredient for the new menu.
Word forms
| base form | source |
|---|---|
| third person singular | sources |
| present participle | sourcing |
| past tense | sourced |
| past participle | sourced |
Common combinations
- locally sourced
- The restaurant prides itself on locally sourced produce.
- sourced from
- Much of the data was sourced from public records.
- well sourced
- Her essay is well sourced, so I trust its conclusions.
- ethically sourced
- The shop sells only ethically sourced coffee.
- sourced material
- Teachers must check that all sourced material is credited.
Synonyms and how they differ
- obtained
- Neutral and general; it says you got something but not where it came from, unlike sourced, which usually names the supplier or origin.
- derived
- Used for ideas, words, or substances that develop from something else, and it sounds more academic than sourced.
- acquired
- Often suggests effort or purchase, and it works well for companies buying other firms, where sourced would sound odd.
Word family
Commonly confused: sourced or sauced? sourced or sowed?
sourced vs sauced
Sounds the same in fast speech but means covered with sauce or, informally, drunk; sourced is about where something came from.
sourced vs sowed
A past form of sow, meaning planted seeds; it is spelled differently but can be misheard as sourced.
Practice
The chocolate used in these bars is ___ from small farms in Ghana.
Choose one answer.
After 'is' we need the past participle sourced to make a passive structure naming where the chocolate comes from. 'Sourcing' would suggest the chocolate is doing the sourcing, and 'source' or 'sources' cannot follow 'is' in this passive pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sourced”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.