tout.
Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way.
Meaning & usage
Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way.
Be careful of the ticket touts outside the arena; they are famed for selling counterfeits.
A person at a racecourse who offers supposedly inside information on which horse is likely to win.
An informer in the Irish Republican Army.
A spy for a smuggler, thief, or the like.
Where this word comes from
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”).
To flaunt, to publicize/publicise; to boast or brag about; to promote.
Mary has been touted as a potential successor to the current CEO.
To spy out information about (a horse, a racing stable, etc.).
To give a tip on (a racehorse) to a person, with the expectation of sharing in any winnings.
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.
To act as a tout; to give a tip on a racehorse.
To look for, try to obtain; used with for.
To look upon or watch.
Where this word comes from
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”).
In the game of solo, a proposal to win all eight tricks.
Where this word comes from
Probably from French tout (“all”).
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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.