spout

American  

[spout] / spaʊt /

verb (used with object)

1. to emit or discharge forcibly (a liquid, granulated substance, etc.) in a stream or jet.

2. Informal.  to state or declaim volubly or in an oratorical manner.

   He spouted his theories on foreign policy for the better part of the night.

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verb (used without object)

1. to discharge, as a liquid, in a jet or continuous stream.

   Synonyms:

   pour , livestream , squirt

2. to issue forth with force, as liquid or other material through a narrow orifice.

   Synonyms:

   pour , livestream , squirt

3. Informal.  to talk or speak at some length or in an oratorical manner.

   Synonyms:

   speechify , harangue , rant , declaim

noun

1. a pipe, tube, or liplike projection through or by which a liquid is discharged, poured, or conveyed.

   Synonyms:

   nose , nozzle

2. a trough or shoot for discharging or conveying grain, flour, etc.

3. a waterspout.

4. a continuous stream of liquid, granulated substance, etc., discharged from or as if from a pipe, tube, shoot, etc.

5. a spring of water.

6. a downpour or fall, especially of water, from a high place; waterfall.

7. a dumbwaiter or chute, formerly common in pawnbrokers' shops, by which articles pawned were sent to another floor for storage.

8. British Slang.  pawnshop.

idioms

1. up the spout,

   1. pawned.

   2. in a desperate situation; beyond help.

      His financial affairs are up the spout.

spout British  

/ spaʊt /

verb

1. to discharge (a liquid) in a continuous jet or in spurts, esp through a narrow gap or under pressure, or (of a liquid) to gush thus

2. (of a whale, etc) to discharge air through the blowhole, so that it forms a spray at the surface of the water

3. informal  to utter (a stream of words) on a subject, often at length

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noun

1. a tube, pipe, chute, etc, allowing the passage or pouring of liquids, grain, etc

2. a continuous stream or jet of liquid

3. short for waterspout

4. slang

   1. ruined or lost

      any hope of rescue is right up the spout

   2. pregnant

Related Words

See flow.

Other Word Forms

• spouter noun
• spoutless adjective
• spoutlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of spout

First recorded in 1300–50; (verb) Middle English spouten; cognate with Dutch spuiten; akin to the Old Norse verb spȳta spit ¹; (noun) Middle English spowt(e) “pipe,” akin to the noun

Example Sentences

In April, at his first news conference since taking office, Kennedy spouted a fountain of misinformation about autism.

From Los Angeles Times

"People feel that it's now permissible for them to spout racist hate crime and hate speech because they're seeing this on their TVs," she said.

From BBC

And rather than fly under the radar, Marler took the risk of spouting his theories openly, and was arguably the most bullish at the roundtables, even managing to ruffle Carr's feathers.

From BBC

Most notably, Charlie Kirk’s very public assassination earlier this fall has, so far, done little more than propagate the beliefs Kirk was already spouting.

From Salon

At the same time, she is also uninterested in spouting the uplifting banalities that can make some celebrities seem calculated, as if every setback is just a marketing opportunity in disguise.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• gush