What does "stour" mean?
A blowing or deposit of dust; dust in motion or at rest; dust in general.
Stour
/ˈstɔː/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb
adj, adv, name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A blowing or deposit of dust; dust in motion or at rest; dust in general.
- Grammar: stour is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: large.
- Usage evidence: Eva climbed the stairs to Romer's office, trying to analyse the complex smell in the stairwell - a cross between mushrooms and soot, ancient stour and mildew, she decided.
How to use "stour"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "stour" 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 "stour" 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 "stour" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "stour" 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 "stour" is acting as adj, adv, name, 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 "large" 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 "stour", 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 blowing or deposit of dust; dust in motion or at rest; dust in general. UK, Ulster, dialectal
- 2 A stake.
- 3 An armed battle or conflict. obsolete
"Then there began a passyng harde stoure, for the Romaynes ever wexed ever bygger."
- 4 A round of a ladder.
- 5 A time of struggle or stress. obsolete
"Then gan she waile and weepe, to see that woefull stowre."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A stave in the side of a wagon.
- 7 Tumult, commotion; confusion. dialectal
- 8 A large pole by which barges are propelled against the stream; a poy.
Verb
- 1 Alternative form of stoor. alt-of, alternative
Adjective
- 1 Tall; large; stout. dialectal, regional
- 2 Strong; powerful; hardy; robust; sturdy. dialectal, regional
- 3 Bold; audacious. dialectal, regional
- 4 Rough in manner; stern; austere; ill-tempered. dialectal, regional
- 5 Rough; hoarse; deep-toned; harsh. dialectal, regional
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Inflexible, stiff. dialectal, regional, usually
"A fenny gooſe, even as her fleſhe is blacker, ſtoorer, unholſomer, ſo is her feather, for the ſame cauſe, courſer, ſtoorer, and rougher, and therefore I have heard very good fletchers ſay, that the ſecond fether in ſome place is better than the pinion in other ſome."
- 7 Resolute; unyielding. obsolete
Adverb
- 1 Severely; strongly. dialectal
Proper Noun
- 1 A river in Dorset, England, which flows into the English Channel at Christchurch.
- 2 A river in Kent, England, running from the confluence of the Great Stour and Little Stour to the English Channel at Pegwell Bay.
- 3 A river in Essex and Suffolk, England, flowing into the North Sea at Harwich.
"The Stour is at its lowest ebb, and the sheen of the flats makes it difficult to tell where ground ends and water begins, out in the bay."
- 4 A river in Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, England, which joins the Warwickshire Avon near Stratford-on-Avon.
- 5 A river in Staffordshire, West Midlands, and Worcestershire, England, which flows into the River Severn.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Eva climbed the stairs to Romer's office, trying to analyse the complex smell in the stairwell - a cross between mushrooms and soot, ancient stour and mildew, she decided."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "stour"?
Common synonyms include: large.
How do you use "stour" in a sentence?
Eva climbed the stairs to Romer's office, trying to analyse the complex smell in the stairwell - a cross between mushrooms and soot, ancient stour and mildew, she decided.
How do you pronounce "stour"?
Pronounced /ˈstɔː/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English store, stoor, stour (“tall, powerful”), from Old English stōr (“tall, great, mighty, strong”), from Proto-West Germanic *stōr, from Proto-Germanic *stōraz, *stōrijaz (“great, big, strong”), from Proto-Indo-European *stā-r-, *stō-r- (“steadfast, firm; standing tall; big, bulky”). Cognates Akin to Scots stour (“tall, large, great, stout”), Saterland Frisian stor (“great, many”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian stor (“large, great”), Icelandic stórr (“large, tall”), Polish stary (“old, ancient”), Albanian stër- (“big, huge”). Compare also stoor, steer, stately.
Etymology 2
From Middle English stoure, stourre, from Old Norse staurr (“a stake, pale”), from Proto-Germanic *stauraz (“pole, support”), from Proto-Indo-European *stā- (“to stand, place”). Cognate with Icelandic staur (“a stake, pole”), Ancient Greek σταυρός (staurós, “a stake, cross”).
Etymology 3
From Middle English stour, stor (“conflict”) from Anglo-Norman estur (“conflict, struggle”), from Old French estour, estor, estorme, estourmie, estormie (“battle, assault, conflict, tumult”), from Vulgar Latin *estorma, *storma (“battle, conflict, storm”), from Frankish *sturm (“storm, commotion, battle”), from Proto-Germanic *sturmaz (“storm”). Akin to Old High German sturm (“battle, storm”). More at storm.
Etymology 4
Most of the rivers' names are from the root of stour (“powerful, tall, large”), though some may have been borrowed through and influenced by Celtic (compare Welsh dŵr (“water”).