Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fourses

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: fours-es
IPA

10

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A light meal taken out to agricultural labourers in the afternoon.

British usage; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"The harvestmen who board in the farm-houses fare sumptuously during the month of harvest.— […] at eleven o'clock in the morning, and four in the afternoon, they have each a large light plum-bun, with a pint of ale a piece, carried into the field, to encourage them to work cheerfully. These extra refreshments they call, in their provincial language, their "elevenses" and "fourses." I could not at first imagine what the servants meant by talking of carrying the harvestmen their elevenses and fourses, till Mrs. Henley explained that it was a vulgar abbreviation of the four-o'clock and eleven o'clock meals."

Etymology

See four and elevenses.

Usage

British usage
Uncountable

Frequently Paired Words

elevenses

Questions

What does fourses mean?: A light meal taken out to agricultural labourers in the afternoon.
Where does fourses come from?: See four and elevenses.

How to pronounce fourses

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “fourses”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “fourses”.
Repeat and practice — Say “fourses” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.