What does "spout" mean?
A tube or lip through which liquid or steam is poured or discharged.
Spout
/spaʊt/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A tube or lip through which liquid or steam is poured or discharged.
- Grammar: spout is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: anabasis, ascension, ascent, avenue.
- Useful contrasts: absorb, contain, listen.
- Usage evidence: After being on the stove for five minutes, steam started coming out the spout of the tea pot.
How to use "spout"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "spout" 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 "spout" 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 "spout" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "spout" 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 "spout" 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 "anabasis" 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 "spout", 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 A tube or lip through which liquid or steam is poured or discharged.
"I dropped my china teapot, and its spout broke."
- 2 an opening that allows the passage of liquids or grain wordnet
- 3 A waterspout (“channel through which water is discharged, especially from the gutters of a roof”).
- 4 A stream or discharge of liquid, typically with some degree of force.
"A spout of blood flew from his mouth, spattering Smichov's linen trousers."
- 5 A stream of water that falls from higher to lower; a (typically thin) waterfall.
"[…] the river rushes over the Auchinlilie Lin or Spout, a tremendous chataract^([sic]); after which it proceeds in a more quiet course, and is navigable to the village of Carron Shore."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A similar stream or fall of earth, rock, etc.
"The great spout of broken mineral, which had damned the canyon up."
- 7 A waterspout (“whirlwind or tornado that forms over water”).
"He ought to haue expert coniecture of Stormes, Tempestes, and Spoutes: and such lyke Meteorologicall effectes, daungerous on Sea."
- 8 The mixture of air and water thrown up from the blowhole of a whale.
- 9 A hollow stump formed when a tree branch breaks off. Australia
Verb
- 1 To gush forth in a jet or stream intransitive
"Water spouts from a hole."
- 2 talk in a noisy, excited, or declamatory manner wordnet
- 3 To eject water or liquid in a jet. ambitransitive
"The whale spouted."
- 4 gush forth in a sudden stream or jet wordnet
- 5 To speak tediously or pompously. intransitive
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To utter magniloquently; to recite in an oratorical or pompous manner. transitive
"Pray, spout some French, son."
- 7 To pawn; to pledge. dated, slang, transitive
"to spout a watch"
Example
"After being on the stove for five minutes, steam started coming out the spout of the tea pot."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "spout"?
Common synonyms include: anabasis, ascension, ascent, avenue, babble, beak.
How do you use "spout" in a sentence?
After being on the stove for five minutes, steam started coming out the spout of the tea pot.
How do you pronounce "spout"?
Pronounced /spaʊt/.
Etymology
From Middle English spouten, from Middle Dutch spoiten, spouten (> Dutch spuiten (“to spout”)), from Old Dutch *spūten, *spīuten, *spīwetten, from Proto-West Germanic *spīwattjan, from Proto-Germanic *spīwatjaną. Compare Swedish spruta (“squirt, syringe”). See also spit, spew.