touting

American  

[tou-ting] / ˈtaʊ tɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of vigorously and boastfully describing, advertising, or promoting something or someone, especially in a persistent or annoying way.

   The avid touting of any new technology should be greeted with a healthy dose of critical skepticism.

2. Stock Exchange. the fraudulent act of promoting an investment while secretly receiving remuneration for doing so.

   The average investor who buys a heavily touted stock and sells it two days after the touting ends will lose close to 5.5%.

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adjective

1. vigorously and boastfully describing, advertising, or promoting something or someone, especially in a persistent or annoying way.

   Upon arrival the first thing we had to negotiate was the hordes of touting taxi drivers at the station.

2. Stock Exchange. engaging in the fraudulent practice of promoting an investment while secretly receiving remuneration for doing so.

   Many an investor has been lured into buying stock by a touting celebrity with a rags-to-riches story.

Etymology

Origin of touting

First recorded in 1970–75; tout ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses; tout ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses

Example Sentences

Ticket touting - This draft legislation would cap the service fees charged by resale platforms to stop price limits being undermined by the addition of hidden costs.

From BBC • May 10, 2026

The capabilities that Anthropic and OpenAI are touting for financial clients come as both start-ups plan initial public offerings as soon as this year.

From Barron's • May 5, 2026

Along with politely touting other offers, the key is to explain changes in financial circumstances, if there are any.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026

Zuckerberg has been enthusiastic about AI’s potential, spending billions of dollars last year to hire top researchers and touting the technology’s role in driving growth of its advertising business.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Uncle Pete had been touting these books for a long time, not to mention quoting from them liberally to score points in Sunday debates.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides