noun
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a period of time spent doing something, such as drinking
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a period of illness
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a contest or fight, esp a boxing or wrestling match
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bout
1535–45; variant of obsolete bought bend, turn, derivative of bow bow 1; see bight
Explanation
A bout is a fight. If you want to be a boxer, start with some easy bouts before challenging the champ. A bout is a period of time in which something intense happens, like fighting, binging, or being sick, and comes from the word for bending, or going round in a circle. We usually use it these days for something you wouldn't want to go on for too long of a time. If the full moon makes you crazy, you might suffer a bout of madness.
Vocabulary lists containing bout
100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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Bud, Not Buddy
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The Diary of a Young Girl
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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:
The buildup to that bout of diplomacy stands in contrast to the niceties shared between the two leaders now.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Salisbury was colorful: A mixed martial arts enthusiast, he once appeared at the agency’s headquarters with his face bruised and eye blackened from a recent bout.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
Critics have debated in the build-up to Makhachev's bout with Machado Garry if his achievements have surpassed team-mate and coach Khabib Nurmagomedov.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
That momentum dovetailed with a broader bout of renewed interest in optical stocks.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
“Well, but you ain’t talked bout not comin' in the store.”
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Greg Byrne, who lives just outside Tucson, Arizona, has had two bouts of melanoma and ended up in an earlier Moderna study of this treatment after having surgery to remove the cancer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Born with sickle-cell disease, Ms. Gray had spent much of her life in emergency rooms riding out bouts of pain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Despite the uptick, officials say California is not included in the cyclosporiasis outbreak that’s hit 15 states, sickening tens of thousands of people with prolonged bouts of diarrhea.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
At this point, investors have grown accustomed to brief bouts of volatility — spurred by tariffs, the war with Iran or creeping worries about the payoff on artificial-intelligence-related investments.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
For as old as they were, the kids didn’t often lapse into bouts of nostalgia.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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.
