tout

[ tout ]

/ taʊt /

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See synonyms for: tout / touted / touting / touts on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to persistently solicit business, employment, votes, or the like.

Horse Racing. to act as a tout.

verb (used with object)

to persistently solicit support for.

to describe or advertise boastfully; publicize or promote; praise extravagantly: a highly touted nightclub.

Horse Racing.

to provide information on (a horse) running in a particular race, especially for a fee.
to spy on (a horse in training) in order to gain information for the purpose of betting.

to watch; spy on.

noun

a person who persistently solicits business, employment, support, or the like.

Horse Racing.

a person who gives information on a horse, especially for a fee.
Chiefly British. a person who spies on a horse in training for the purpose of betting.

British. a ticket scalper.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of tout

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Middle English tuten “to look out, peer”; probably akin to Old English tōtian “to peep out”

Words nearby tout

touse, tousle, tousled, tous-les-mois, Toussaint L'Ouverture, tout, tout à fait, tout à vous, tout comprendre, c'est tout pardonner, tout court, tout de suite

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tout in a sentence

Stores on every other street corner tout rainbow displays of surgical masks, with a dazzling variety of patterns.
I Saw Firsthand What It Takes to Keep COVID Out of Hong Kong. It Felt Like a Different Planet.|by Caroline Chen|January 6, 2022|ProPublica
Two years earlier, the commission settled civil fraud charges against an even younger Internet tout.
GameStop frenzy leaves behind a mess for Wall Street regulators|Tory Newmyer, David J. Lynch|February 3, 2021|Washington Post
One is the “economic decoupling” many tout as the way to end any dependency on China and weaken its economy.
China: Charting a Course Between Conflict and Accommodation|Tracy Moran|October 13, 2020|Ozy
The audience--tout Hollywood--stands to cheer his slow and painful trek from the wings to the table.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A liberal group supporting Hillary Clinton tries to tout her pro-middle class bonafides.
Pro-Hillary Group: She’s Not Rich, She’s You|Ben Jacobs|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But every few years a news article will tout the increased popularity of rabbit as an American dinner item.
Whole Foods Wants to Feed You Cute, Furry Bunnies|Tim Mak|August 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Le tout Minsk turns out in protest, catching the authorities by surprise.
The Belarus Free Theatre’s Badass Dissident Artists Get the HBO Treatment|Katie Baker|July 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That big brain we so tout today was shaped by the mammoths we hunted, by the great cats and bears that sometimes stalked us.
American Wilderness Faces the Firing Squad|Doug Peacock|July 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ils me respondirent que si je la voulois, ils me la donnoyent tout faict.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
Ils me donnerent parolle d'ainsy faire le tout; ce neantmoins, le languissant ne nous fut apport que deux jours aprs.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
Neantmoins le vieil Membertou, pere du malade, conceut asss l'affaire, et me promit qu'on s'arresteroit tout ce que j'en dirois.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
Celuy-cy avoit souvent esvad le danger d'estre noy, et tout fraischement le beau jour de la Pentecoste dernire.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
Le lendemain matin, un coup de vent l'emporta tout seul dehors de la chaloupe dans les vagues, et jamais depuis, n'est apparu.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various

British Dictionary definitions for tout

tout

/ (taʊt) /

verb

to solicit (business, customers, etc) or hawk (merchandise), esp in a brazen way

(intr)

to spy on racehorses being trained in order to obtain information for betting purposes
to sell, or attempt to sell, such information or to take bets, esp in public places

(tr) informal to recommend flatteringly or excessively

noun

a person who spies on racehorses so as to obtain betting information to sell
a person who sells information obtained by such spying

a person who solicits business in a brazen way

Also called: ticket tout a person who sells tickets unofficially for a heavily booked sporting event, concert, etc, at greatly inflated prices

Ulster a police informer

Derived forms of tout

touter, noun

Word Origin for tout

C14 (in the sense: to peer, look out): related to Old English tӯtan to peep out

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

tout

Origin of tout

Words nearby tout

Words related to tout

How to use tout in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tout

Derived forms of tout

Word Origin for tout