spout

[spout]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR spout ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to emit or discharge forcibly (a liquid, granulated substance, etc.) in a stream or jet.

Informal. to state or declaim volubly or in an oratorical manner: He spouted his theories on foreign policy for the better part of the night.

verb (used without object)

to discharge, as a liquid, in a jet or continuous stream.

to issue forth with force, as liquid or other material through a narrow orifice.

Informal. to talk or speak at some length or in an oratorical manner.

noun

a pipe, tube, or liplike projection through or by which a liquid is discharged, poured, or conveyed.

a trough or shoot for discharging or conveying grain, flour, etc.

a waterspout.

a continuous stream of liquid, granulated substance, etc., discharged from or as if from a pipe, tube, shoot, etc.

a spring of water.

a downpour or fall, especially of water, from a high place; waterfall.

a dumbwaiter or chute, formerly common in pawnbrokers' shops, by which articles pawned were sent to another floor for storage.

British Slang. pawnshop.

Idioms

up the spout, British Slang.

pawned.
in a desperate situation; beyond help: His financial affairs are up the spout.

Origin of spout

1300–50; (v.) Middle English spouten; cognate with Dutch spuiten; akin to Old Norse spȳta to spit¹; (noun) Middle English spowt(e) pipe, akin to the noun

Related formsspout·er, nounspout·less, adjectivespout·like, adjective

Synonyms for spout

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR spout ON THESAURUS.COM

3, 4. squirt, stream, pour. See flow. 5. declaim, rant, harangue, speechify. 6. nozzle, nose.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for spout

gush, shoot, stream, jet, spill, expel, pour, surge, cascade, spray, erupt, discharge, eject, squirt, exude, roll, orate, declaim, ramble, boast

Examples from the Web for spout

Contemporary Examples of spout

Meaning, Williams has basically previously displayed his willingness to spout government propaganda in exchange for cash.
Ben Carson’s Bizarrely Serious, Seriously Bizarre Campaign Crew
Olivia Nuzzi
November 12, 2014
The spout was almost universally believed to be a sign of the apocalypse.
Benjamin Franklin, America’s First Storm Chaser
Lee Sandlin
April 14, 2013
If the spout was air and not water, then there was no necessary reason for it to be confined to seas and oceans.
Benjamin Franklin, America’s First Storm Chaser
Lee Sandlin
April 14, 2013
So this meant that the solid appearance of the spout had to be an illusion.
Benjamin Franklin, America’s First Storm Chaser
Lee Sandlin
April 14, 2013
Emboldened by the last round of war, factions of Hamas compete for who can spout the most invective against Israel.
Daniel Gordis Has It Backwards
Mark Baker
December 11, 2012

Historical Examples of spout

Mallyan's Spout is the most imposing, having a drop of about 76 feet.
Yorkshire Painted And Described
Gordon Home
Its spout was torn and ragged like the mouth of a gun when a shell has burst there.
American Notes
Rudyard Kipling
Why should it not be "up the spout," instead of in a jewel-box?
The Lightning Conductor Discovers America
C. N. (Charles Norris) Williamson and A. M. (Alice Muriel) Williamson
Just below the lid, and above the spout, was a hole as large as a dime.
Philo Gubb Correspondence-School Detective
Ellis Parker Butler
It came out by itself, as the spout of a teapot had once come off by itself in her hand.
A Great Man
Arnold Bennett

British Dictionary definitions for spout

spout

verb

to discharge (a liquid) in a continuous jet or in spurts, esp through a narrow gap or under pressure, or (of a liquid) to gush thus

(of a whale, etc) to discharge air through the blowhole, so that it forms a spray at the surface of the water

informal to utter (a stream of words) on a subject, often at length

noun

a tube, pipe, chute, etc, allowing the passage or pouring of liquids, grain, etc

a continuous stream or jet of liquid

short for waterspout

up the spout slang

ruined or lostany hope of rescue is right up the spout
pregnant

Derived Formsspouter, noun

Word Origin for spout

C14: perhaps from Middle Dutch spouten, from Old Norse spyta to spit

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for spout

early 14c., related to Middle Dutch spoiten "to spout," North Frisian spütji "spout, squirt," Swedish sputa "to spout," and probably Middle Dutch spuwen "to spit" (see spew). Meaning "to talk, declaim" is recorded from 1610s.

late 14c., from spout (v.). It was the slang term for the lift in a pawnbroker's shop, up which articles were taken for storage, hence figurative phrase up the spout "lost, hopeless, gone beyond recall" (1812).