What does "pore" mean?
A tiny opening in the skin.
Pore
/pɔː(ɹ)/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A tiny opening in the skin.
- Grammar: pore is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: stoma, aperture, aperture, avenue.
- Useful contrasts: blockage, blocked pore, blocked stomatal pore.
- Usage evidence: Experts will now pore over the fine print of the contract.
How to use "pore"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "pore" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "pore" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "pore" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "pore" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "pore" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "stoma" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "pore", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A tiny opening in the skin.
"I could sense the sweat dripping out of all my pores."
- 2 any small opening in the skin or outer surface of an animal wordnet
- 3 By extension any small opening or interstice, especially one of many, or one allowing the passage of a fluid.
"the pores of a rock."
- 4 a minute epidermal pore in a leaf or stem through which gases and water vapor can pass wordnet
- 5 any tiny hole admitting passage of a liquid (fluid or gas) wordnet
Verb
- 1 To study meticulously; to go over again and again.
"Yet each foreign post day she watched for the arrival of letters - knew the postmark, and watched me as I read. I found her often poring over the articles of Greek intelligence in the newspaper."
- 2 direct one's attention on something wordnet
- 3 To meditate or reflect in a steady way.
Antonyms
Example
"Experts will now pore over the fine print of the contract."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "pore"?
Common synonyms include: stoma, aperture, aperture, avenue, blowhole, broaching.
How do you use "pore" in a sentence?
Experts will now pore over the fine print of the contract.
How do you pronounce "pore"?
Pronounced /pɔː(ɹ)/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English pore, from Old French pore, from Latin porus, from Ancient Greek πόρος (póros, “passage”). Displaced native English sweat hole from Middle English swet hole, which might have been a reformation of Old English swātþȳrel (literally “sweat hole”), which competed with līcþēote (literally “body pipe”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English poren, pouren, puren (“to gaze intently, look closely”), from Old English *pūrian, from Proto-West Germanic *pūrōn, suggested by Old English spyrian (“to investigate, examine”). Akin to Saterland Frisian puurje (“to question, investigate; pry, prod”), West Frisian poarje (“to poke, prod”), Middle Dutch poren (“to pore, look”), Dutch porren (“to poke, prod, stir, encourage, endeavour, attempt”), Low German purren (“to poke, stir”), Danish purre (“to poke, stir, rouse”), dialectal Swedish pora, pura, påra (“to work slowly and gradually, work deliberately”), Old English spor (“track, trace, vestige”). Compare also Middle English puren, piren (“to look, peer”). See peer.