spout

[spout]

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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

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

Examples from the Web for spouter

Historical Examples of spouter

"And if they don't, you let me know, and we'll attend to them," said Spouter to his cousin.
The Rover Boys on Snowshoe Island
Edward Stratemeyer
"You ought to let us all have a hand in that, Andy," put in Spouter.
The Rover Boys on Snowshoe Island
Edward Stratemeyer
"Right you are," had come from his particular chum, Spouter Powell.
The Rover Boys on Snowshoe Island
Edward Stratemeyer
"Well, Spouter Powell is a good skater, too," returned another.
The Rover Boys on Snowshoe Island
Edward Stratemeyer
Again there was a silence, and then Spouter came to the front.
The Rover Boys on Snowshoe Island
Edward Stratemeyer

British Dictionary definitions for spouter

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 spouter

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.

spout

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).