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scouting

American  
[skou-ting] / ˈskaʊ tɪŋ /

noun

  1. an act or instance of reconnoitering; reconnaissance.

  2. the activities of a scout or scouts.

  3. (often initial capital letter) the program of activities of the Boy Scouts or the Girl Scouts.

scouting British  
/ ˈskaʊtɪŋ /

noun

    1. the activities, programmes, principles, etc, of the Scout Association

    2. ( as modifier )

      the international Scouting movement
"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 Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of scouting

First recorded in 1635–45; scout 1 + -ing 1

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.

The Scouting council replaced all of its members’ lost uniforms and awards and dished out gift cards to pay for new camping equipment.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2025

More than 100 Scouting families lost their homes in the January fires, Harrison said.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2025

Scouting is among the areas where numbers have been slashed.

From BBC • Oct. 8, 2025

Again, you can't blame them for what happened to Aaron, obviously; but the Scouting Combine is objectively kind of ridiculous: Lining people up and weighing them in front of a crowd.

From Salon • Sep. 22, 2024

“I got my Scouting Badge in First Aid.”

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

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.