spout

American  

[spout] / spaʊt /

verb (used with object)

spouts, present (3rd person singular) spouted, past participle, past spouting present participle

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)

spouts, present (3rd person singular) spouted, past participle, past spouting present participle

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

Synonym Usage

See flow.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• spouter
  noun
• spoutless
  adjective
• spoutlike
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has spouted
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have spouted
  perfect
• have been spouting
  perfect progressive
• are spouting
  progressive
• has been spouting
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• spouting
  participle
• spouts
  singular 3rd person
• is spouting
  progressive 3rd person singular
• am spouting
  progressive 1st person singular

Past

• had spouted
  perfect
• had been spouting
  perfect progressive
• spouted
  simple
• was spouting
  progressive singular
• were spouting
  progressive plural
• spouted
  participle

Future

• will spout
  simple
• will have spouted
  perfect
• will have been spouting
  perfect progressive
• will be spouting
  progressive

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

Explanation

A spout is the narrow opening in the edge of a container that makes it easier to neatly pour its contents. A pitcher's spout helps you direct your orange juice into your glass. Some spouts are indentations or lips, and others — like the spout on a teapot — are tubes. Another meaning of spout is "gush suddenly in a stream." If you filled your teapot too full, tea might spout from its spout. When someone figuratively spouts, she talks in a loud, animated way. The verb form of spout came first, from a Proto-Germanic root that also spawned the Middle Dutch spoiten and the Swedish sputa, both also meaning spout.

Example Sentences

I don’t like to spout clichés, but you do have to put your own oxygen mask on first in this situation.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 11, 2026

A spruce branch threaded through the spout as a filter.

From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026

Social media created incentives for content creators to spout engagement-baiting nonsense.

From Slate • Dec. 16, 2025

They’re filling plastic honey-bear bottles with coffee and adding a straw into the spout of the cover.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

For instance, we are regularly told, “James Watt invented the steam engine in 1769,” supposedly inspired by watching steam rise from a teakettle’s spout.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• gush