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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

“When we would scout him … it was always like ... ‘I don’t like him,’” Mesidor said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

Snead now viewed himself less as a pure talent scout and more as a value investor who just happened to be in the business of picking NFL stocks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

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

A modelling scout linked to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead at his home.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

There was no doubt Chi-Boy was the best scout we had, probably the best scout anyone had.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

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

Girl Scouts does offer its own national “My Promise, My Faith” pin, which asks girls to explore the relationship between the Girl Scout Law and their own beliefs.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026

“We want you to become slightly more cautious because positive EPS estimate revision momentum has cooled somewhat,” Nick Raich of the Earnings Scout wrote in a recent research note.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

He rolls his shirt up and hands it to Piper, who is busy talking to Scout, sign in hand.

From "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko

Players pray as they always have: for protection from injury, from the embarrassment of a missed tackle or muffed punt, to impress their homecoming date or to attract the attention of scouts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 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

Morocco have sought to identify and reach out to promising players with such roots at an early stage by deploying full-time scouts in France, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

Some came back from the pursuit of the Southrons; others, left behind as scouts near the road, came in latest.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

Related Words

• examine
• explore
• inspect