clout.
Influence or effectiveness, especially political.
Meaning & usage
Influence or effectiveness, especially political.
A blow with the hand.
A home run.
The center of the butt at which archers shoot; probably once a piece of white cloth or a nail head.
A swaddling cloth, nappy, or loincloth.
A cloth; a piece of cloth or leather; a patch; a rag.
An iron plate on an axletree or other wood to keep it from wearing; a washer.
A clout nail.
A piece; a fragment.
Where this word comes from
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.
To hit (someone or something), especially with the fist.
To cover with cloth, leather, or other material; to bandage, patch, or mend with a clout.
To stud with nails, as a timber, or a boot sole.
To guard with an iron plate, as an axletree.
To join or patch clumsily.
Where this word comes from
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.
Dated form of clot.
Try it on your idea.
clout has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.