pout
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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pouts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pouted,
past participle, past
-
pouting
present participle
verb (used with object)
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pouts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pouted,
past participle, past
-
pouting
present participle
-
to protrude (the lips).
-
to utter with a pout.
noun
-
the act of pouting; a protrusion of the lips.
-
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
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Stargirl
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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:
Sophomore pitcher Kaylynn Lowman gave up two home runs to Murrieta Mesa in the first inning but didn’t pout.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026
It comes from the Welsh pwdu, meaning to sulk, which itself originated with the English word pout, combined with the Welsh verb-forming suffix -u.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2025
Her lips, coated in a nude lipstick, are pursed just enough to achieve the perfect pout.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 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
Stargirl’s face went through a series of expressions, ending with a pout and a sudden sobby outburst: “I’m not connected!”
From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
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
So picture the angel who gave them the hook, Enduring their protests and pouts.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 28, 2021
He’s also freaked out when I want to go on a bike ride or to take a walk on the beach by myself, or even gets mad or pouts when I haven’t made dinner yet.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2020
He pouts and whines and I’m afraid he’s going to have an all-out tantrum, and for some reason, because I don’t know what else to do, I applaud.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
According to NBC News, he whined "no one is defending me" and pouted over the fact that there wasn't a big crowd of protesters outside.
From Salon ● May 10, 2024
If you took a second take, everybody pouted and got mad.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 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
Tyson pouted, and immediately I knew I’d asked a bad question.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
Putting flowers on Aunt May’s grave each day and pouting when MJ is finally like “Thanks for saying you love me . . . I don’t know you.”
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026
And yet the pouting Pratt pulled more than 200,000 votes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026
They looked like pouting kids on the playground—not the CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic, two of the hottest names in the AI scene.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 2026
I had snapped a photo earlier in which he appeared to be pouting.
From Slate ● Jan. 3, 2026
"You will, won't you, beautiful?" she said, her lips, raw-looking now without makeup, pouting babyishly.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
