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.

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

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

Never before have we locked her out of the basement for so long, and she pays us back with pathetic pouts.

From Literature

But when she crosses her arms and pouts, I realize Denny really did stand up for me.

From Literature

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.

From Literature

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

From Literature

Lady Constance pouted and tore the fallen leaves into strips.

From Literature

Related Words

• mope
• sulk