# pore

Pronunciation: US say "POR" /poɹ/; UK say "PAW" /pɔː(ɹ)/

## Noun

1. A tiny opening in the surface of the skin.
   - Simple: A very small opening in the skin that lets sweat out.
   - _Cold water can make the pores on your face tighten._
   - _When a pore gets clogged with oil, a blemish often forms._
3. Any small opening or gap, especially one of many, or one that allows a fluid to pass through.
   - Simple: A small hole or gap, especially one of many that lets liquid or gas pass through.
   - _Water moves slowly through the pores in the sandstone._
   - _Each pore in the cell membrane lets certain ions pass._

## Verb

2. To study something closely and carefully, going over it again and again.
   - Simple: To read or study something very carefully, again and again.
   - _Detectives pore over witness statements looking for inconsistencies._
   - _He pored over the recipe to make sure he had every step right._
4. To meditate or reflect on something in a steady, continuous way.
   - Simple: To think about something quietly and steadily for a long time.
   - _For weeks he would pore on the meaning of the strange dream._
   - _She pored on her decision, weighing each consequence in silence._

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3** — This word came through Middle English and Old French from Latin porus, itself from Ancient Greek πόρος (póros, "passage"). It replaced the native English "sweat hole."
**Meanings 2, 4** — This sense comes from Middle English poren ("to gaze intently, look closely"), from an Old English form *pūrian and Proto-West Germanic *pūrōn, suggested by Old English spyrian ("to investigate, examine"). It is related to words like Middle Dutch poren ("to pore, look") and Danish purre ("to poke, stir").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pore (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).