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

Other Canadians have graced the Eurovision stage: Annie Cotton represented Switzerland in 1993 with "Moi, Tout Simplement", finishing third -- the last French-language song to finish in the top three until 2021.

From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026

A draft Ticket Tout Bill has been included in the King's Speech, but music industry and consumer groups have voiced their frustration that more progress isn't being made.

From BBC • May 13, 2026

Appeared in the September 26, 2025, print edition as 'HHS Team Wanted to Tout Autism Therapy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 25, 2025

Seconds before the Chevrolet Tahoe plowed into Tout Suite cafe, podcaster Nathan Reeves said: “It got so quiet in here.”

From Seattle Times • Mar. 7, 2023

Tout ce qui n'est pas explicable" says he in a letter to the Abb� Conti, "par la nature des cr�atures, est miraculeux.

From A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive 7th Edition, Vol. I by Mill, John Stuart

Related Words

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