Dictionary
sour
Pronunciation: (souur, sou'ur), [key]
—adj., -er, -est,
—n., v.
—
adj.
1. having an acid taste, resembling that of vinegar, lemon juice, etc.; tart.
2. rendered acid or affected by fermentation; fermented.
3. producing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is not bitter, salt, or sweet.
4. characteristic of something fermented:
a sour smell.
5. distasteful or disagreeable; unpleasant.
6. below standard; poor.
7. harsh in spirit or temper; austere; morose; peevish.
8. Agric.(of soil) having excessive acidity.
9. (of gasoline or the like) contaminated by sulfur compounds.
10. Music.off-pitch; badly produced:
a sour note.
—
n.
1. something that is sour.
2. any of various cocktails consisting typically of whiskey or gin with lemon or lime juice and sugar and sometimes soda water, often garnished with a slice of orange, a maraschino cherry, or both.
3. an acid or an acidic substance used in laundering and bleaching to neutralize alkalis and to decompose residual soap or bleach.
—
v.i.
1. to become sour, rancid, mildewed, etc.; spoil:
Milk sours quickly in warm weather. The laundry soured before it was ironed.
2. to become unpleasant or strained; worsen; deteriorate:
Relations between the two countries have soured.
3. to become bitter, disillusioned, or disinterested:
I guess I soured when I learned he was married. My loyalty soured after his last book.
4. Agric.(of soil) to develop excessive acidity.
—
v.t.
1. to make sour; cause sourness in:
What do they use to sour the mash?
2. to cause spoilage in; rot:
Defective cartons soured the apples.
3. to make bitter, disillusioned, or disagreeable:
One misadventure needn't have soured him. That swindle soured a great many potential investors. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
