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Glite Dictionary
💧 To flow out 🗣️ To express freely 🚶 To come out in numbers
to pour out

to pour out

20 2.9
Move out of a building in large numbers
  • phrasal verb
  • /pɔr aʊt/
: salir en masa
  • As the doors opened, fans started to pour out of the stadium into the streets.
  • people poured out
  • crowd poured out
  • thousands poured out

Examples

  • A shout went up; men came pouring out of the smithy.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Men and women were already moving toward the exits, pouring out onto the streets in a fury.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Smoke pouring out of his car!

    Winning (1969)

  • I, I walked past hundreds of students pouring out of classrooms.

  • They're pouring out of every printer in the office.

    The Fifth Estate (2013)

  • After class was over, the young students came pouring out of all the classrooms and along the corridor.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • More and more people are pouring out onto the streets as word begins to circulate that it's raining.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Jeddie and Matt filed outside and waited as students poured out of the building.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • As the fighting intensified, over six million Afghan refugees poured out of the country into Pakistan and Iran.

    Academic text (1997)

  • After the final bell rang, students began to pour out of the school in excited groups.

Synonyms

to stream
vsto pour out
70 1.7

To flow out in large amounts, like liquid or tears

focuses on many people or things emerging together rather than any movement
to spill out
vsto pour out
43 3.6

Move out of a place suddenly in large numbers or fall out of a container and spread

tends to describe a steadier, ongoing emergence rather than sudden release
to flow out
vsto pour out
27 2.9

Move or pour out in a steady stream, often a liquid

is used for people or things emerging in large continuous numbers
to gush
vsto pour out
27 3.2

To flow out suddenly and forcefully, like blood from a wound

implies a steadier, less forceful and more continuous movement
to pour out of
vsto pour out
24 3.7

To leave a place quickly in large numbers

describes a more steady, continuous emergence rather than a single quick exit
to run out
vsto pour out
9 1.3

Water or other liquid flows out of a container by accident

is about many people or things coming out intentionally or naturally, not container leaks
to disgorge
vsto pour out
3 8.6

To pour out a large amount of something suddenly in a strong stream

is gentler, indicating continued emergence rather than a forceful discharge
to effuse
vsto pour out
1 9.1

To come out freely, as a liquid, gas, or light

concerns a mass movement of people or things rather than general emission

Antonyms

to withdraw
94 3.5

To take money or things out of a place where they are kept

to recede
67 4.8

To move back or become less strong

How Many

to pour out
20 2.9
to spill out
43 3.6
to flow out
27 2.9
to trickle
81 3.4

Surface Forms

pour out infinitive
poured out past
poured out past participle
pouring out present participle
pours out third person singular

Morphology

pour + out

The meaning 'to flow or cause to flow out' is directly compositional from 'pour' (make a liquid flow) + 'out' (away from the interior), so the sense follows standard motion/egress semantics. This verb + particle pattern is cross-linguistically common and predictable, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Pour out paints the picture of people moving like water through an open door: to pour people out is to watch them flow quickly from a place. That's why it means 'to emerge or flow out in large numbers'.