scout

1
[ skout ]
See synonyms for scout on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a soldier, warship, airplane, etc., employed in reconnoitering.

  2. a person sent out to obtain information.

  1. Sports.

    • a person who observes and reports on the techniques, players, etc., of opposing teams.

    • a person sent out by a team to observe and recommend new talent for recruitment.

  2. a talent scout, as in the entertainment field.

  3. an act or instance of reconnoitering, inspecting, observing, etc.

  4. Sometimes Scout . a Boy Scout or Girl Scout.

  5. Informal. a person: He's a good scout.

  6. a man acting as servant to a student at Oxford University.

verb (used without object)
  1. to act as a scout; reconnoiter.

  2. to make a search; hunt.

  1. to work as a talent scout.

verb (used with object)
  1. to examine, inspect, or observe for the purpose of obtaining information; reconnoiter: to scout the enemy's defenses.

  2. to seek; search for (usually followed by out or up): to scout up a date for Friday night.

  1. to find by seeking, searching, or looking (usually followed by out or up): Scout out a good book for me to read.

Origin of scout

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb scouten. skowten, from Old French escouter, escolter, ascolter (French écouter “to listen”) from Late Latin ascultāre, Latin auscultāre “to listen, listen to”; Middle English noun scoute-, from Old French escoute, derivative of escouter; see origin at auscultation

Other definitions for scout (2 of 2)

scout2
[ skout ]

verb (used with object)
  1. to treat with scorn; dismiss.

  2. to make fun of; deride; mock.

verb (used without object)
  1. to scoff; jeer.

Origin of scout

2
First recorded in 1595–1605; perhaps from Old Norse skūta, skūti “abuse, taunting”; see also shout

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use scout in a sentence

  • Scouts reported that Porter still occupied his camp, and showed no sign of moving.

  • Back to find Guitar the scouts rode; but it was night when they found him and then nearly where they had left him.

  • Firing a random volley, those that lived turned and fled, pursued by the scouts.

  • More than once would the pursuers have been at fault had it not been for Lawrence and his little band of scouts.

  • The scouts were in advance, and had been following the trail through a rough and broken country.

British Dictionary definitions for scout (1 of 3)

scout1

/ (skaʊt) /


noun
  1. a person, ship, or aircraft sent out to gain information

  2. military a person or unit despatched to reconnoitre the position of the enemy

  1. sport a person employed by a club to seek new players

  2. the act or an instance of scouting

  3. (esp at Oxford University) a college servant: Compare gyp 3

  4. obsolete (in Britain) a patrolman of a motoring organization

  5. informal a fellow or companion

verb
  1. to examine or observe (anything) in order to obtain information

  2. (tr; sometimes foll by out or up) to seek

  1. (intr) to act as a scout for a sports club

  2. (intr; foll by about or around) to go in search (for)

Origin of scout

1
C14: from Old French ascouter to listen to, from Latin auscultāre to auscultate

Derived forms of scout

  • scouter, noun

British Dictionary definitions for scout (2 of 3)

scout2

/ (skaʊt) /


verb
  1. archaic to reject (a person or thing) with contempt

Origin of scout

2
C17: from Old Norse skūta derision

British Dictionary definitions for Scout (3 of 3)

Scout

/ (skaʊt) /


noun
  1. (sometimes not capital) a boy or (in some countries) a girl who is a member of a worldwide movement (the Scout Association) founded as the Boy Scouts in England in 1908 by Lord Baden-Powell with the aim of developing character and responsibility: See also Air Scout, Girl Scout, Guide, Sea Scout, Venture Scout

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with scout

scout

see good egg (scout).

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.