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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  

[skaut] / 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  

[skaut] / 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

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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

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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

Tyler was born in a Neath council house where she grew up with a love of music before being discovered by talent scout Roger Bell in a Swansea club.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

When the truck wasn’t there, they would draw the heavy metal gate closed and lock it, or else pay a scout to sit out front watching, relaying surveillance intel when needed.

From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026

Jarl Mohn recalled that, weeks into the job, Ryan joined her fellow directors at Frieze Los Angeles to scout work for the collection.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

So he would cruise the local fields with Northeast scout Matt Hyde in search of gems yet to be unearthed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

The Warlord’s eye rested balefully on his scout.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

They delivered a passel of Boy Scout platitudes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

Fiona Ma played sports, was a Girl Scout — “a top cookie seller,” she boasts on her campaign website — and graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

As the Fantasy Football Scout explains, since the game began, 52 players have reached 200 points in a season at least once.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

A Scout factory under construction in South Carolina isn’t set to deliver vehicles before 2028.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

That’s what my Girl Scout leader in Raleigh told me about acorn wishes, and that could not be a lie because Girl Scout leaders do not lie.

From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor

The scouts said the object climbed quickly before appearing to disintegrate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

At 6-foot-3 with the route-running ability that once made scouts slack-jawed, he still possesses the skills to be a game-changing force at 24.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

An in-house real-estate team aggressively scouts and negotiates deals for prime locations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

The team has added new equipment for recovery and treatment and hopes to bring in more scouts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

Buford turned and rode back through the town, anxious for news from his scouts.

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara

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Related Words

• examine
• explore
• inspect

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