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• scout
  scout

  noun

  a soldier, warship, airplane, etc., employed in reconnoitering.
• Scout
  Scout

  noun

  (sometimes not capital) a boy or (in some countries) a girl who is a member of a worldwide movement (the Scout Association ) founded as the Boy Scouts in England in 1908 by Lord Baden-Powell with the aim of developing character and responsibility See also Air Scout Girl Scout Guide Sea Scout Venture Scout

scout

¹ American  

[skout] / skaʊt /

noun

• scouts
  plural

1. a soldier, warship, airplane, etc., employed in reconnoitering.

2. a person sent out to obtain information.

3. Sports.

   1. a person who observes and reports on the techniques, players, etc., of opposing teams.

   2. a person sent out by a team to observe and recommend new talent for recruitment.

4. a talent scout, as in the entertainment field.

5. an act or instance of reconnoitering, inspecting, observing, etc.

6. Sometimes Scout a Boy Scout or Girl Scout.

7. Informal. a person.

   He's a good scout.

8. a man acting as servant to a student at Oxford University.

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verb (used without object)

1. to act as a scout; reconnoiter.

2. to make a search; hunt.

3. to work as a talent scout.

verb (used with object)

1. to examine, inspect, or observe for the purpose of obtaining information; reconnoiter.

   to scout the enemy's defenses.

2. to seek; search for (usually followed by out orup ).

   to scout up a date for Friday night.

3. to find by seeking, searching, or looking (usually followed by out orup ).

   Scout out a good book for me to read.

scout ² American  

[skout] / skaʊt /

verb (used with object)

1. to treat with scorn; dismiss.

2. to make fun of; deride; mock.

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verb (used without object)

1. to scoff; jeer.

scout ¹ British  

/ skaʊt /

noun

1. a person, ship, or aircraft sent out to gain information

2. military a person or unit despatched to reconnoitre the position of the enemy

3. sport a person employed by a club to seek new players

4. the act or an instance of scouting

5. (esp at Oxford University) a college servant Compare gyp 3

6. obsolete (in Britain) a patrolman of a motoring organization

7. informal a fellow or companion

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verb

1. to examine or observe (anything) in order to obtain information

2. (tr; sometimes foll by out or up) to seek

3. (intr) to act as a scout for a sports club

4. (intr; foll by about or around) to go in search (for)

Scout ² British  

/ skaʊt /

noun

1. (sometimes not capital) a boy or (in some countries) a girl who is a member of a worldwide movement (the Scout Association ) founded as the Boy Scouts in England in 1908 by Lord Baden-Powell with the aim of developing character and responsibility See also Air Scout Girl Scout Guide Sea Scout Venture Scout

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scout ³ British  

/ skaʊt /

verb

1. archaic to reject (a person or thing) with contempt

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scout Idioms  

1. see good egg (scout).

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• scouter
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• scouts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of scout¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb scouten. skowten, from Old French escouter, escolter, ascolter ( French écouter “to listen”) from Late Latin ascultāre, Latin auscultāre “to listen, listen to”; Middle English noun scoute-, from Old French escoute, derivative of escouter; see origin at auscultation

Origin of scout²

First recorded in 1595–1605; perhaps from Old Norse skūta, skūti “abuse, taunting”; see also shout

Explanation

When you explore or investigate an area, you scout. If your cat is missing, you might send your friends out to scout around the neighborhood. When you scout, you're searching for information; the word comes from the Old French escouter, "to listen for," and its Latin source, auscultare, "to listen attentively." And when you're searching under porches and in trees for your missing cat — also listening for his meows — you're acting as a scout, someone tasked with looking out for or finding something.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scout Scout scouts

You could fly into a major metropolitan area like Miami to scout places and easily plunk down your entire $2 million nest egg in one day.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

In her early twenties, she came into Epstein's orbit when she visited a Paris agency and met modelling scout Daniel Siad.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

“Outside he was shy, very quiet,” former Barcelona scout Carles Rexach once wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

Ethan currently trains with Leeds United scout and coach Callum McKenzie, and has been selected to play in a PYE Elite team at an international tournament in Sweden.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

If a German scout plane flew over it in daylight, all the pilot would see was an empty green field.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

The K3 Scout sea drones can remotely carry out surveillance, and according to their supplier, "support a wide range of mission profiles including maritime awareness, force protection, logistics and precision strike".

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Full reporting for the quarter should confirm this trend continues, and that’s bullish for stocks, says Nick Raich, who tracks earnings and earnings revisions closely at his research service the Earnings Scout.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

When the company was readying Yahoo Scout, its AI assistant, she tested early versions of the product alongside the team and gave feedback on its answers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026

It unveiled Microsoft Scout, an "always-on" assistant -- for preparing meetings, managing schedules and drafting emails -- based on OpenClaw, the open-source software whose global popularity launched this wave in late 2025.

From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026

Scout wins, so I head for the dugout.

From "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko

In February, about 100 club officials, scouts and agents gathered at Villa Park for a networking event.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

The song refers to the pressures of fame, and the video shows Grande as a starlet who tries out for a group of talent scouts, dressing as a variety of different pop star personas.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

NBA scouts who requested anonymity to speak candidly on the matter said Williams is athletic but hasn’t figure out his game yet.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Some scouts have predicted he could go higher than his brother.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

“That guy’s a beast. I heard scouts have been all over him.”

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

Related Words

• examine
• explore
• inspect