porous

[ pawr-uhs, pohr- ]
See synonyms for porous on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. full of pores.

  2. permeable by water, air, etc.

Origin of porous

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, variant of porose, from Medieval Latin porōsus; see pore2, -ous

Other words for porous

Other words from porous

  • po·rous·ly, adverb
  • po·rous·ness, noun
  • non·po·rous, adjective
  • non·po·rous·ness, noun
  • un·po·rous, adjective
  • un·po·rous·ness, noun

Words Nearby porous

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How to use porous in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for porous

porous

/ (ˈpɔːrəs) /


adjective
  1. permeable to water, air, or other fluids

  2. biology geology having pores; poriferous

  1. easy to cross or penetrate: the porous border into Thailand; the most porous defence in the league

Origin of porous

1
C14: from Medieval Latin porōsus, from Late Latin porus pore ²

Derived forms of porous

  • porously, adverb
  • porousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for porous

porous

[ pôrəs ]


  1. Having many pores or other small spaces that can hold a gas or liquid or allow it to pass through.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.