source — English Dictionary

Noun

1. The person, place, or thing from which something (information, goods, etc.) comes or is acquired.

   Synonyms

   fundstorehouse

   Examples

   The accused refused to reveal the source of the illegal drugs she was selling.

   To this day I do not know the source of the terrible screams that night in the labyrinth. Perhaps an owl. Perhaps something else...

   More examples (2)

   More than a mere source of Promethean sustenance to thwart the cold and cook one's meat, wood was quite simply mankind's first industrial and manufacturing fuel.

   Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.

2. Spring; fountainhead; wellhead; any collection of water on or under the surface of the ground in which a stream originates.

   Examples

   The main sources of the Euphrates River are the Karasu and Murat Rivers.

   More examples (2)

   The O-erh-ch'i-ssu River begins in the southern section of the lofty A-erh-t'ai Mountains of Sinkiang. This river is over 2,900 kilometers long and has a large delta area rich in minerals such as gold, iron, copper, lead, zinc, mercury, mica, crystal and "ping-chou-shih" [3056 3166 4258 possibly cryolite]. At the source of the O-erh-ch'i-ssu River, the A-erh-t'ai Mountains reach more than 3,000 meters above sea level. The peaks of the mountains are covered with snow year-round, and rainfall is heavy in the summer.

   Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world's deepest valleys.

3. A reporter's informant.

4. Source code.

5. The name of one terminal of a field effect transistor (FET).

6. A node in a directed graph whose edges all go out from it; one with no entering edges.

7. The domain of a function; the object which a morphism points from.

   Examples

   Coordinate term: target

Verb

1. To obtain or procure: used especially of a business resource.

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   But the point when it would have to look at alternative new-build vehicles was always looming large, and there would inevitably be a finite number of Class 66s it could source from elsewhere, and a limit to other locomotives it could re-power.

2. To find information about (a quotation)'s source (from which it comes): to find a citation for.

   Usage

   • Transitive

Noun

1. the place where something begins, where it springs into being

   Synonyms

   beginningoriginrootrootage

   Broader terms

   point

   Examples

   the Italian beginning of the Renaissance

   Jupiter was the origin of the radiation

   More examples (2)

   Pittsburgh is the source of the Ohio River

   communism's Russian root

2. a document (or organization) from which information is obtained

   Broader terms

   documentwritten documentpapers

   Examples

   the reporter had two sources for the story

3. anything that provides inspiration for later work

   Synonyms

   seedgerm

   Broader terms

   inspiration

4. a facility where something is available

   Broader terms

   facilityinstallation

5. a person who supplies information

   Synonyms

   informant

   Broader terms

   communicator

6. someone who originates or causes or initiates something

   Synonyms

   generatorauthor

   Broader terms

   makershaper

   Examples

   he was the generator of several complaints

7. (technology) a process by which energy or a substance enters a system

   Antonyms

   sink

   Broader terms

   natural processnatural actionactionactivity

   Examples

   a heat source

   a source of carbon dioxide

8. anything (a person or animal or plant or substance) in which an infectious agent normally lives and multiplies

   Synonyms

   reservoir

   Broader terms

   thing

   Examples

   an infectious agent depends on a reservoir for its survival

9. a publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to

   Synonyms

   reference

   Broader terms

   publication

   Examples

   he carried an armful of references back to his desk

   he spent hours looking for the source of that quotation

Verb

1. get (a product) from another country or business

   Broader terms

   obtain

   Examples

   She sourced a supply of carpet

   They are sourcing from smaller companies

2. specify the origin of

   Broader terms

   document

   Examples

   The writer carefully sourced her report