Sour substance (4)
I believe the answer is:
acid
'sour substance' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for acid that I've seen before include "Substance with pH of less than 7" , "Caustic and biting" , "Acerbic" , "- - -drop, sweet" , "Substance which turns litmus red" .)