When should you use "pour" instead of "pore?

"Pore" and "pour" sound exactly the same, but they mean very different things. Most of the time, it's obvious which one you need. There's one phrase, though, where even native speakers get it wrong all the time. Let's start with the easy part.

Pour

"Pour" means to make a liquid flow out of a container, like when you fill a glass.

• Can you pour me a glass of water?
• Pour the batter into the baking tin.
• He poured milk into his coffee.

It's also used for heavy rain, and for anything that arrives in large amounts.

• Take an umbrella. It's pouring outside.
• After the article went live, emails poured in.

And it's common with feelings and effort, as if they're flowing out of you.

• She poured her heart out to me last night.
• He's poured everything into this business.

Pore

"Pore" has two meanings. As a noun, a pore is a tiny opening in your skin that lets out sweat and oil. Plants have them too.

• This cleanser is supposed to unclog your pores.
• My pores always look bigger in summer.

As a verb, “pore” means to read or study something very carefully, usually for a long time. It almost always comes with “over.”

• She pored over the contract before signing it.
• I spent the weekend poring over old family photos.
• The detective pored over the evidence.

This is where the mix-up happens. Because the two words sound the same, a lot of people write “pour over the documents.”

So if you’re writing about studying something closely, double-check that spelling. You pore over a report. You only pour something over it if you’ve spilled your coffee.

Looking for more English language hacks? Daily Dose of Denglisch Docs is just the thing you need.