source

 
Pronunciation: /sɔːs/

noun

  • 1a place, person, or thing from which something originates or can be obtained: mackerel is a good source of fish oil
  • a spring or fountain head from which a river or stream issues: the source of the Nile
  • a person who provides information: military sources announced a reduction in strategic nuclear weapons
  • a book or document used to provide evidence in research: a historian will need to use both primary and secondary sources
  • 2 technical a body or process by which energy or a particular component enters a system: major sources and sinks exist for atmospheric oxygenThe opposite of sink2
  • Electronics a part of a field-effect transistor from which carriers flow into the inter-electrode channel.

verb

[with object]
  • obtain from a particular source: each type of coffee is sourced from one country
  • find out where (something) can be obtained: she was called upon to source a supply of carpet

Phrases

at source

at the point of origin or issue: reduction of pollution at source
used to show that a sum is deducted from earnings or other payments before they are made: your pension contribution will be deducted at source

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French sours(e), past participle of sourdre 'to rise', from Latin surgere