Lout

//laʊt// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A troublemaker, often violent; a rude violent person; a yob.

    "But the lout looked only to his market, and was not easily repulsed. “He’s there, I tell you,” he persisted. “And for threepence I’ll get you to see him. Come on, your honour! It’s many a Westminster election I’ve seen, and beer running, from Mr. Fox,[…]when maybe it’s your honour’s going to stand! Anyway, it’s, Down with the mongers!”"

  2. 2
    an awkward stupid person wordnet
  3. 3
    A clownish, awkward fellow; a bumpkin.

    "The faire Pamela, whose noble hart I finde doth greatly disdaine, that the trust of her vertue is reposed in such a louts hands, as Dametas, had yet to shew an obedience, taken on a shepeardish apparell[…]"

Verb
  1. 1
    To treat as a lout or fool; to neglect; to disappoint. obsolete, transitive

    "Renowned Talbot doth expect my ayde, / And I am lowted by a Traitor Villaine, / And cannot helpe the noble Cheualier:[…]"

  2. 2
    To bend, bow, stoop. archaic, intransitive

    "He faire the knight ſaluted, louting low, / Who faire him quited, as that courteous was[…]."

Synonyms

All synonyms
lubberagitatorarrivistebabbittbabebad boy

Example

More examples

"Trump is a lout, because he talks and acts like a lout."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Of dialectal origin, likely derived from Middle English louten (“to bow, bend low, stoop over”), from Old English lūtan (“to bow, bend forward, stoop”), from Proto-West Germanic *lūtan, from Proto-Germanic *lūtaną (“to bow down, lout”). Alternatively, derived from Middle English louten (“to hide, lurk”), from Old English lūtian (“to lurk, skulk”), from Proto-West Germanic *lūtēn (“to be hidden, be concealed”). Compare Old Norse lútr (“stooping”), Gothic 𐌻𐌿𐍄𐍉𐌽 (lutōn, “to deceive”). Non-Germanic cognates are probably Old Church Slavonic лоудити (luditi, “to deceive”), Serbo-Croatian lud and Albanian lut (“to beg, pray”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English louten, from Old English lūtan, from Proto-West Germanic *lūtan, from Proto-Germanic *lūtaną. Cognate with Old Norse lúta, Danish lude (“to bend”), Norwegian lute (“stoop”), Swedish luta.

Related phrases

Lycra loutSaga loutlager loutlitter lout

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.