What does "tout" mean?
Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way.
Tout
/taʊt/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way.
- Grammar: tout is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: tipster, acclaim, adherent, adventurer.
- Useful contrasts: des, buyer, conceal.
- Usage evidence: President Joe Biden on Thursday visited a small, deindustrialized Ohio steel town to tout his ambitious multi-trillion-dollar proposed spending plan, to announce a $1 billion initiative for environmental cleanup and restoration, and to court voters in a crucial state ahead of this year's tightly contested midterm elections.
How to use "tout"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "tout" 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 "tout" 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 "tout" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "tout" 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 "tout" 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 "tipster" 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 "tout", 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 Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way.
"Be careful of the ticket touts outside the arena; they are famed for selling counterfeits."
- 2 In the game of solo, a proposal to win all eight tricks.
- 3 one who sells advice about gambling or speculation (especially at the racetrack) wordnet
- 4 A person at a racecourse who offers supposedly inside information on which horse is likely to win.
"No one, however, would have anything to do with him, as Mr. Keeson's orders in those respects were very strict ; he had often threatened any one of his employés with instant dismissal if he found him in company with one of these touts."
- 5 someone who advertises for customers in an especially brazen way wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 An informer in the Irish Republican Army. colloquial
"The Derry Brigade of the IRA thought it had got rid of its informer problem when earlier that year it executed Paddy Flood as a tout, after holding him for six weeks."
- 7 someone who buys tickets to an event in order to resell them at a profit wordnet
- 8 A spy for a smuggler, thief, or the like. archaic, colloquial
Verb
- 1 To flaunt, to publicize/publicise; to boast or brag about; to promote. transitive
"Mary has been touted as a potential successor to the current CEO."
- 2 show off wordnet
- 3 To spy out information about (a horse, a racing stable, etc.). UK, slang, transitive
- 4 advertize in strongly positive terms wordnet
- 5 To give a tip on (a racehorse) to a person, with the expectation of sharing in any winnings. US, slang, transitive
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 To spy out the movements of racehorses at their trials, or to get by stealth or other improper means the secrets of the stable, for betting purposes. UK, intransitive, slang
- 7 To act as a tout; to give a tip on a racehorse. US, intransitive, slang
- 8 To look for, try to obtain; used with for. intransitive
"To understand the new London, I lived it. I slept rough with Roma beggars and touted for work with Baltic laborers on the kerb."
- 9 To look upon or watch. obsolete
"Nor durst Orcanes view the Soldan's face, / But still upon the floor did pore and tout."
Example
"President Joe Biden on Thursday visited a small, deindustrialized Ohio steel town to tout his ambitious multi-trillion-dollar proposed spending plan, to announce a $1 billion initiative for environmental cleanup and restoration, and to court voters in a crucial state ahead of this year's tightly contested midterm elections."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "tout"?
Common synonyms include: tipster, acclaim, adherent, adventurer, advertise, advertising.
How do you use "tout" in a sentence?
President Joe Biden on Thursday visited a small, deindustrialized Ohio steel town to tout his ambitious multi-trillion-dollar proposed spending plan, to announce a $1 billion initiative for environmental cleanup and restoration, and to court voters in a crucial state ahead of this year's tightly contested midterm elections.
How do you pronounce "tout"?
Pronounced /taʊt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English touten (“to jut out, protrude, gaze upon, observe, peer”), from Old English *tūtian (“to be sticking out, protrude”), related to Old English tȳtan (“to stand out, be conspicuous, shine”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *tut(t)- (“to stick out, project”). Compare Icelandic túta (“a teat-like prominence”), tútna (“to be blown up”). Possibly influenced by dialectal toot (“to stick out; project; peer out; peep”), from Middle English toten, totien, from Old English tōtian (“to peep out; look; pry; spectate”). Compare also Old English tot, ġetot (“pomp, splendour, vainglory”).
Etymology 2
Probably from French tout (“all”).