tout

[tout]Informal.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tout ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

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

Horse Racing. to act as a tout.

verb (used with object)

to solicit support for importunately.

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 solicits business, employment, support, or the like, importunately.

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.

Nearby words

Origin of tout

1350–1400; Middle English tuten to look out, peer; probably akin to Old English tōtian to peep out

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

Examples from the Web for tout

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
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

They tout engaging plot lines, sharp illustrations and alluring wines that capture immediate attention.
'The Drops of God': Wine Books You Will Actually Want to Read|Jordan Salcito|January 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tout l'ocan du grand Neptune pourrait-il laver ce sang de ma main?
Major Prophets of To-Day|Edwin E. Slosson
In Paris tout le monde—everybody he think differently of those things—no?
Valley of Dreams|Stanley Grauman Weinbaum
The "tipster" in Wall Street is like the tout on the race track.
Profitable Stock Exchange Investments|Henry Voorce Brandenburg
Tout le monde perdra, et à la fin il n'y aura que des vaincus.
In the World War|Count Ottokar Czernin
Tout a ne se dessine pas du tout bien, tu sais, mais pas du tout, tu comprends!
The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett|Compton Mackenzie

British Dictionary definitions for tout

tout

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 Formstouter, 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

Word Origin and History for tout

tout

1700, thieves' cant, "to act as a lookout, spy on," from Middle English tuten "to peep, peer," probably from a variant of Old English totian "to stick out, peep, peer," from Proto-Germanic *tut- "project" (cf. Dutch tuit "sprout, snout," Middle Dutch tute "nipple, pap," Middle Low German tute "horn, funnel," Old Norse tota "teat, toe of a shoe"). The sense developed to "look out for jobs, votes, etc., to try to get them" (1731), then "praise highly" (1920). Related: Touted; touting.

tout

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

noun

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Origin of tout

Examples from the Web for tout

tout

verb

noun

Word Origin for tout

tout