pout
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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pouts,
present (3rd person singular)
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pouted,
past participle, past
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pouting
present participle
verb (used with object)
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pouts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pouted,
past participle, past
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pouting
present participle
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to protrude (the lips).
-
to utter with a pout.
noun
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the act of pouting; a protrusion of the lips.
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a fit of sullenness.
to be in a pout.
noun
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pout,
plural
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pouts
plural
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a northern marine food fish, Trisopterus luscus.
verb
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to thrust out (the lips), as when sullen, or (of the lips) to be thrust out
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(intr) to swell out; protrude
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(tr) to utter with a pout
noun
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(sometimes the pouts) a fit of sullenness
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the act or state of pouting
noun
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short for horned pout eelpout
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any of various gadoid food fishes, esp the bib (also called whiting pout )
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any of certain other stout-bodied fishes
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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poutsimple
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poutssimple
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have poutedperfect
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has poutedperfect
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am poutingprogressive
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are poutingprogressive
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is poutingprogressive
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have been poutingperfect progressive
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has been poutingperfect progressive
Past
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poutedsimple
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had poutedperfect
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was poutingprogressive
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were poutingprogressive
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had been poutingperfect progressive
Future
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”
Explanation
When something doesn’t go your way and you get annoyed about it, that’s a pout. And when you let the world know about it by thrusting out your lower lip, you are pouting. Get over it. When you pout, you’re expressing annoyance or displeasure. It’s a sulky kind of gesture, one that involves a facial expression more than words — in fact, a pout is often accompanied by a moody silence. The verb form of pout describes the action, and the noun form describes the facial expression. Maybe it's not a coincidence that a pout is also a type of fish. Pouting faces are a bit fish-like in their expressions.
Vocabulary lists containing pout
Bud, Not Buddy
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100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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Stargirl
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Hatosy’s Titus is the Danforths’ disappointing fail son and the actor keeps his face in a delightfully foolish little pout.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026
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
I pout, but MiSSSisss WaSShington says every language has annoyances and illogical rules, as well as sensible beauty.
From "Inside Out and Back Again" by Thanhha Lai
If you take a picture of him he doesn’t like, then he screams and pouts.
From Salon ● Nov. 7, 2025
“They’re gonna like you for who you are, not what you wear,” Disick says in a scene shot in a changing room as Kim pouts into a mirror.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2022
She pouts a little because she thinks I’m not committed to the new dynamic.
From Slate ● Apr. 14, 2021
So picture the angel who gave them the hook, Enduring their protests and pouts.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 28, 2021
Even Shayleen pouts and laughs at the same time.
From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor
He pulled away from me, pouted and went to sleep on the farthest end of the bed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2023
I bought her a gift like I did Lana and Sophie, but once I gave Lana the gift card, she whined and pouted.
From Slate ● Oct. 12, 2023
So I responded as a typical teenager: I pouted, with my arms crossed, stubbornly refusing to enjoy it.
From New York Times ● Jan. 4, 2023
The coach said Duggan never pouted, never had a bad practice and was always thinking about the team.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 2022
They pouted and gave me a couple of dirty looks.
From "Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher Paul Curtis
With the bases loaded, I was still pouting when the batter drilled the ball deep to right.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
I had snapped a photo earlier in which he appeared to be pouting.
From Slate ● Jan. 3, 2026
It’s that time of year again, when Dodgers fans will be pouting and moaning about “only” winning the division title, and how disgraceful it will be if they fail to win the World Series.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2024
In Silicon Valley, you have the Elon Musk and Peter Thiel breed, who have made billions of dollars yet spend most of their time pouting because middle class journalists on Twitter think they're dumb.
From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2024
“I bet there is and you won’t tell me ’cause you don’t wanna take me,” she said, pouting.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
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.
