What does "clout" mean?
Influence or effectiveness, especially political.
Clout
/klaʊt/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Influence or effectiveness, especially political.
- Grammar: clout is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: pull, amperage, armipotence, ascendancy.
- Useful contrasts: anonymity, gentle touch, graze.
- Usage evidence: My father has a lot of clout at city hall.
How to use "clout"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "clout" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "clout" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "clout" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "clout" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "clout" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "pull" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "clout", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Influence or effectiveness, especially political. countable, informal, uncountable
"Having relinquished his clout in City Council to run for a place on the county board, and having lost stature by reason of his failure to win the presidency, Duffy was in no position to seek the party chairmanship for himself"
- 2 (boxing) a blow with the fist wordnet
- 3 A blow with the hand. countable, uncountable
"‘Such a clout on the ear as you gave me… But I soon taught you.’"
- 4 a short nail with a flat head; used to attach sheet metal to wood wordnet
- 5 A home run. countable, informal, uncountable
"'... allowed Boston to score all of its runs on homers, including a pair of clouts by Jacoby Ellsbury ...'"
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 special advantage or influence wordnet
- 7 The center of the butt at which archers shoot; probably once a piece of white cloth or a nail head. countable, uncountable
"For kings are clouts that euery man ſhoots at, Our Crowne the pin that thouſands ſeeke to cleaue."
- 8 a target used in archery wordnet
- 9 A swaddling cloth. countable, dated, regional, uncountable
"When a new-hatched savage running wild about his native woodlands in a grass clout, followed by the nibbling goats, as if he were a green sapling; even then, in Queequeg’s ambitious soul, lurked a strong desire to see something more of Christendom than a specimen whaler or two."
- 10 A cloth; a piece of cloth or leather; a patch; a rag. archaic, countable, uncountable
"His garment nought but many ragged clouts, / With thornes together pind and patched was, / The which his naked sides he wrapt abouts;"
- 11 An iron plate on an axletree or other wood to keep it from wearing; a washer. archaic, countable, uncountable
"Clouts were thin and flat pieces of iron, used it appears to strengthen the box of the wheel; perhaps also for nailing on such other parts of the cart as were particularly exposed to wear."
- 12 A clout nail. countable, uncountable
- 13 A piece; a fragment. countable, obsolete, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To hit (someone or something), especially with the fist. transitive
"The wolde ſome mayſter perhappes clowt ye / But as for me ye nede nat doute ye / For I had leuer be without ye / Then haue ſuche beſyneſſe aboute ye."
- 2 Dated form of clot. alt-of, dated, transitive
"He tells us how to butter eggs, boil eels, clout cream, stew capons, how to make a fine cake, an almond pudding and a raspberry conserve, […]"
- 3 strike hard, especially with the fist wordnet
- 4 To cover with cloth, leather, or other material; to bandage, patch, or mend with a clout. transitive
"Paul, yea, and Peter, too, had more skill in mending an old net, and in clouting an old tent than to teach lawyers what diligence they should use in the expedition of matters."
- 5 To stud with nails, as a timber, or a boot sole. transitive
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To guard with an iron plate, as an axletree. transitive
- 7 To join or patch clumsily. transitive
"if fond Bavius vent his clouted song"
Example
"My father has a lot of clout at city hall."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "clout"?
Common synonyms include: pull, amperage, armipotence, ascendancy, authoritativeness, authority.
How do you use "clout" in a sentence?
My father has a lot of clout at city hall.
How do you pronounce "clout"?
Pronounced /klaʊt/.
Etymology
From Middle English clout (“piece of cloth”), from Old English clūt (“piece of cloth, patch; metal plate”), from Proto-West Germanic *klūt, from Proto-Germanic *klūtaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gelewdos, from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to ball up, amass”). The influence sense originated in the dialect of Chicago, but has become widespread. Cognate with Old Norse klútr (“kerchief”), Swedish klut, Danish klud, Middle High German klōz (“lump”), whence German Kloß (“clump”), and dialectal Russian глуда (gluda). See also cleat.