pout

¹

[pout]

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.

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

[pout]

noun

plural

pout ,

plural

pouts .

1. horned pout.

2. ocean pout.

3. a northern marine food fish, Trisopterus luscus.

pout

¹

/ 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

noun

1. (sometimes the pouts) a fit of sullenness

2. the act or state of pouting

pout

²

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of pout¹

C14: of uncertain origin; compare Swedish dialect puta inflated, Danish pude _pillow

Origin of pout²

Old English -pūte as in ǣlepūte eelpout; related to Dutch puit frog

Example Sentences

I nudge her, take my hands, put them near my forehead, and bring them down to my chin in a pout—just as she did to me in her basement.

Read more on Literature

They did this by sitting and pouting, having lying-down tantrums, and giving each other the “silent treatment.”

Read more on Literature

Lady Constance pouted and tore the fallen leaves into strips.

Read more on Literature

If you take a picture of him he doesn’t like, then he screams and pouts.

Read more on Salon

It was his mother who first suggested he write books to “stop him from pouting” after he was sidelined with an injury from the University of Notre Dame track and field team.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• mope 
• sulk 

When To Use

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.