lout
1 Americannoun
-
louts
plural
verb (used with object)
verb (used with or without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lout1
First recorded in 1540–50; perhaps special use of lout 2
Origin of lout2
1250–1300; Middle English louten, Old English lūtan; cognate with Old Norse lūta; akin to little
Explanation
A lout is a clumsy, awkward oaf. If you want to insult the person who just stepped on your toes and belched, say, "Watch where you're going, you lout!" Lout originally meant a bumbling, awkward fellow, both annoying and pitiful. But if you call someone a lout today, you're also implying that he's not only stupid and clumsy, but that he's no good. Lout is almost never used for women, because the word has an implication of being bad to women — not abusive so much as selfish. If everyone thinks your boyfriend is a lowdown, disgusting lout, you might want to try dating someone else.
Vocabulary lists containing lout
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"Easter, 1916" by W.B. Yeats
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"The Odyssey" by Homer (Part One)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And though “Tony” doesn’t entirely lack that heady romanticization, its choice to amplify its introductory quote — making Bourdain an even more insufferable lout for dramatic effect — feels antithetical to Bourdain’s raw candor.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
At light speed, the action zips to Siberia, where it momentarily bogs down in an extended dance-off between a bald and shirtless Russian lout and Sonic and Tails.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 5, 2022
They’ll go on about how he was an ass, a lush, a lout, and — this is a word used both loadedly and lovingly — a prophet.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 15, 2021
Hawke took this foul-tempered lout and turned him into the not-so-better half of a tough but surprisingly tender love story.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 2019
And it was that great lout, Tom Kawaguchi, who now took the seat between them.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
“For seven years, he had more than his share of knuckleheads, louts, losers and prima donnas,” former Washington Post sports columnist Michael Wilbon once wrote of Mr. Unseld’s checkered tenure as head coach.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 2, 2020
Like yours, there were good moments and bad, great bosses and real louts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2020
Failing to find beauty in these carnival customs, louts of the old school primarily celebrate their own freedom from consequences.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 4, 2018
The attacks now come not just from the alt-right and anonymous Twitter louts.
From Slate ● Mar. 29, 2018
"With sweet sights like that before you, all you see is a gaggle of louts raising a clangor."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
