pout

¹ American  

[pout] / paʊt /

verb (used without object)

1. to thrust out the lips, especially in displeasure or sullenness.

2. to look or be sullen; sulk; mope.

   Synonyms:

   scowl, glower, brood

3. to swell out or protrude, as lips.

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verb (used with object)

1. to protrude (the lips).

2. to utter with a pout.

noun

1. the act of pouting; a protrusion of the lips.

2. a fit of sullenness.

   to be in a pout.

pout ² American  

[pout] / paʊt /

noun

plural

pout,

plural

pouts

1. horned pout.

2. ocean pout.

3. a northern marine food fish, Trisopterus luscus.

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pout ¹ British  

/ paʊt /

verb

1. to thrust out (the lips), as when sullen, or (of the lips) to be thrust out

2. (intr) to swell out; protrude

3. (tr) to utter with a pout

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noun

1. (sometimes the pouts) a fit of sullenness

2. the act or state of pouting

pout ² British  

/ paʊt /

noun

1. short for horned pout eelpout

2. any of various gadoid food fishes, esp the bib (also called whiting pout )

3. any of certain other stout-bodied fishes

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Usage

What does pout mean? To pout is to act in a gloomy and irritated way; to mope or sulk.Children sometimes pout when they don’t get their way, often by sitting with their arms crossed and a specific look on their face: a kind of frown with the lips pushed out (sometimes just the bottom lip). This expression is also called a pout. The term is typically used in the context of young children, but it can be applied to adults in some situations.Example: My toddler pouts when he doesn’t get his way, but I guess it’s better than throwing a tantrum.

Other Word Forms

• poutful adjective
• poutingly adverb
• pouty adjective
• unpouting adjective
• unpoutingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of pout¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English pouten; probably from Old Norse; compare Swedish dialect puta “to be inflated,” Norwegian (noun) “pute ”

Origin of pout²

First recorded before 1000; Old English -pūta, in ǣlepūta “eelpout” (not recorded in Middle English ); akin to Low German pūtāl and aalputte “eelpout,” Dutch puit “frog”

Example Sentences

Unlike Santa, who ho-ho-hos his way through the holiday season, Grinches twerk and pout and scream in kids’ faces.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 25, 2025

Lady Beckham's pout became her defining look in the 1990s.

From BBC • Oct. 8, 2025

Yes, the heart-shaped lips and resting pout do some heavy lifting to pull off the baseball-loving mama’s boy, but Butler’s authenticity is irrefutable.

From Salon • Aug. 29, 2025

Now, scientists have trained a facial robot to anticipate and mirror human expressions, allowing it to produce a simultaneous smile—or frown, or pout.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 29, 2024

Her suspicions remained on her face as a beaky pout.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

• mope
• sulk