Word
pore
US/ˈpɔɹ/
UK/pˈɔː/
Definition
n. a tiny opening in your skin or on the surface of a leaf. It allows sweat, oils, or gases to pass through.
n. a minute opening in a surface, especially the skin or the integument of a plant, through which gases, liquids, or microscopic particles can pass.
Examples
“Steam helps to open the pores on your face.”
“After a long run, your pores release sweat to help cool your body down to a safe temperature.”
“The effectiveness of the topical treatment depends on its ability to penetrate the pores without causing significant irritation to the surrounding epidermal tissue.”
Examples
simple
“Steam helps to open the pores on your face.”
contextual
“After a long run, your pores release sweat to help cool your body down to a safe temperature.”
complex
“The effectiveness of the topical treatment depends on its ability to penetrate the pores without causing significant irritation to the surrounding epidermal tissue.”
Usage
Commonly used in the plural when referring to skincare or biology.
Pitfall
He began to pore over his skin
He noticed a blocked pore on his skin
Learners confuse the noun 'pore' (a small hole) with the verb 'pore' (to study something closely), which is always followed by 'over'.
Etymology
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”).
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/pore