tout

[ tout ]

/ taʊt /

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See synonyms for: tout / touted / touting / touts 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.

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Origin of tout

First recorded in 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. 2022

How to use tout in a sentence

For weeks leading up to the election, Hagan ran television commercials touting her opposition to “amnesty” for “illegal aliens.”
Latinos Aren’t a ‘Cheap Date’ for Democrats Anymore|Ruben Navarrette Jr.|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The pro-gun advocacy group is putting out online ads in Arkansas touting its support of Rep. Tom Cotton, the GOP Senate candidate.
A Tom Cotton Ad on Grindr?|Ben Jacobs|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If there is one precious commodity for America, it is our touting of the First Amendment.
Ferguson Shows a Nation at War With Itself|Roland S. Martin|August 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 2008, McConnell ran ads touting the billions of dollars of pork he had brought home to Kentucky over the years.
Libertarianism 3.0: Koch And A Smile|Nick Gillespie|May 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Science shows the low-fat diet to be BS, and yet the American Heart Association keeps touting it as the ‘heart healthy’ choice.
The Heart Association’s Junk Science Diet|Dr. Barbara H. Roberts|May 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I never had the least doubt that the shabby man who stood touting for custom outside that caravan was Cyrus Verd.
Here and Hereafter|Barry Pain
Means I'm rich, that I can have my own ponies if I want to, 'stead of touting somebody else's old dogs.
The Killer|Stewart Edward White
Besant supposes that Tothill Street took its name from watermen touting there for fares.
Archaic England|Harold Bayley
Under the impression that Jeckie had come touting for custom, he received her grumpishly, and eyed her with anything but favour.
The Root of All Evil|J. S. Fletcher
Occasionally, I suffered a little from their pouting and touting; but, in the main, I was happy enough between them.
Three Courses and a Dessert|Anonymous

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 related to tout

How to use tout in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tout

Derived forms of tout

Word Origin for tout