tout

American  

[tout] / taʊt /

verb (used without object)

touts, present (3rd person singular) touted, past participle, past touting present participle

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

2. Horse Racing. to act as a tout.

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verb (used with object)

touts, present (3rd person singular) touted, past participle, past touting present participle

1. to persistently solicit support for.

2. to describe or advertise boastfully; publicize or promote; praise extravagantly.

   a highly touted nightclub.

3. Horse Racing.

   1. to provide information on (a horse) running in a particular race, especially for a fee.

   2. to spy on (a horse in training) in order to gain information for the purpose of betting.

4. to watch; spy on.

noun

touts plural

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

2. Horse Racing.

   1. a person who gives information on a horse, especially for a fee.

   2. Chiefly British. a person who spies on a horse in training for the purpose of betting.

3. British. a ticket scalper.

tout British  

/ taʊt /

verb

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

2. (intr)

   1. to spy on racehorses being trained in order to obtain information for betting purposes

   2. to sell, or attempt to sell, such information or to take bets, esp in public places

3. informal (tr) to recommend flatteringly or excessively

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noun

1. 1. a person who spies on racehorses so as to obtain betting information to sell

   2. a person who sells information obtained by such spying

2. a person who solicits business in a brazen way

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

4. a police informer

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• touter
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• touts
  plural

Participles

• touting
  present
• touted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• tout
  simple
• touts
  simple
• have touted
  perfect
• has touted
  perfect
• am touting
  progressive
• are touting
  progressive
• is touting
  progressive
• have been touting
  perfect progressive
• has been touting
  perfect progressive

Past

• touted
  simple
• had touted
  perfect
• was touting
  progressive
• were touting
  progressive
• had been touting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will tout
  simple
• will have touted
  perfect
• will be touting
  progressive
• will have been touting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

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”

Explanation

To tout means to praise, boast, or brag about. If you like to tout your skill as a skier, you tell people you can go down expert-level hills. Sometimes parents will get into bragging wars about their children, each touting the accomplishments of his or her child. Sometimes the word means more of "to claim." The company touted the lotion as a solution to wrinkles. Broccoli has been touted as the cancer-fighting vegetable. In England, a tout is a person who gives advice about gambling. If you're looking to play some money on the ponies, go see the tout who hangs out at Jackie’s bar for a tip.

Example Sentences

As the nation became the dominant form of political organization in the 19th century, some countries started to tout their long civilizational history as part of their identity.

From Slate • Jul. 4, 2026

Supporters of AI systems tout their greater capacity to generalize from one driving situation to another, as human drivers can, making them easier to roll out at scale than hybrid systems.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 28, 2026

As much as the developers behind this technology tout its ability to bring users closer together, AI chatbots merely fuel our isolation.

From Salon • Jun. 28, 2026

Financial advisers often tout the importance of estate planning: having a will, setting up trusts if necessary, and organizing medical directives and powers of attorney.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026

I’m always amused by commercials for banks which tout their personalized service, which service amounts to a poorly trained and badly paid cashier saying “Good morning” and then promptly fouling up your transaction.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Related Words

• laud
• praise
• proclaim
• promote
• publicize
• trumpet