scout
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scout¹
- /ˈskaʊ̯t/ US, UK
- /ˈskɐʊ̯t/
- /ˈskʌʊ̯t/
- /ˈskəʊ̯t/
- /ˈskɜʊ̯t/
- /ˈskæʊ̯t/
- /ˈskaːt/
Sounds like Scout · Rhymes with -aʊt
Where it comes from
From Middle English scout, scoult, from Old French escoute (“action of listening”), verbal noun from escouter (“to listen, heed”), from Latin auscultō (“to listen”). The verb comes from the noun.
noun scouts
- A person sent out to gather and bring back information; especially, one employed in war to gain information about the enemy and ground.
- An act of scouting or reconnoitering. while the rat is on the scout
- A member of any number of youth organizations belonging to the international scout movement, such as the Boy Scouts of America or Girl Scouts of the United States. At the crack of dawn on Wednesday four different groups of scouts will climb the highest peaks in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales to light flames and officially mark the start of the Paralympic torch relay.
- A person who assesses or recruits others; especially, one who identifies promising talent on behalf of a sports team. We have met twice this year and, during our first interview, Mata spoke evocatively when remembering how, having joined Real Oviedo aged 10 in 1998, he was given a previously unimaginable opportunity. Mata sat in a car park in 2003, when he was 14, and watched his father talking to a Real Madrid sco
- A person employed to monitor rivals' activities in the petroleum industry.
- A housekeeper or domestic cleaner, generally female, employed by one of the constituent colleges of Oxford University to clean rooms; generally equivalent to a modern bedder at Cambridge University.
- A domestic servant, generally male, who would attend (usually several) students in a variety of ways, including cleaning; generally equivalent to a gyp at Cambridge University or a skip at Trinity College, Dublin. He has also been good enough to recommend to me many tradesmen who are ready to supply these articles in any quantities; each of whom has been here already a dozen times, cap in hand, and vowing that it is quite immaterial when I pay—which is very kind of them; but, with the highest respect for frie
- A fielder in a game for practice.
- A fighter aircraft.
- A preliminary image that allows the technician to make adjustments before the actual diagnostic images. A scout topogram is initially performed during continuous table motion, generating an anatomic overview image similar to a conventional radiograph at the locked projection.
- A term of address for a man or boy. "Listen, old scout," Mr. Osborn said solemnly, "you think New York is heartless, but that's not what it is."
verb scouts · scouting · scouted
-
To explore a wide terrain, as if on a search.
An hundred horeſmen of my companie
Scowting abroad vpon theſe champion plaines,
Haue view’d the army of the Scythians,
Which make report it far exceeds the Kings.
Similar: survey, reconnoiter
- To observe, watch, or look for, as a scout; to follow for the purpose of observation, as a scout. Take more men, and scout him round.
scout²
- /ˈskaʊ̯t/ US, UK
- /ˈskɐʊ̯t/
- /ˈskʌʊ̯t/
- /ˈskəʊ̯t/
- /ˈskɜʊ̯t/
- /ˈskæʊ̯t/
- /ˈskaːt/
Sounds like Scout · Rhymes with -aʊt
Where it comes from
Of North Germanic origin. Compare Old Norse skúta, skúti (“taunt”), Middle English scoute (“a wretch, rascal, rogue”); thus may be related to English shout.
verb scouts · scouting · scouted
- To reject with contempt. to scout an idea or an apology
- To reject the ideas or beliefs of (a person). Two months ago I should have scouted as mad or drunk the man who had dared tell me the like.
- To scoff. So ignorant are most landsmen of some of the plainest and most palpable wonders of the world, that without some hints touching the plain facts, historical and otherwise, of the fishery, they might scout at Moby Dick as a monstrous fable, or still worse and more detestable, a hideous and intolerable
scout³
- /ˈskaʊ̯t/ US, UK
- /ˈskɐʊ̯t/
- /ˈskʌʊ̯t/
- /ˈskəʊ̯t/
- /ˈskɜʊ̯t/
- /ˈskæʊ̯t/
- /ˈskaːt/
Sounds like Scout · Rhymes with -aʊt
Where it comes from
From Middle English scoute, skoute (also schoute, shoute, schuyt), from Middle Low German schûte or Middle Dutch schute; or possibly from Old Norse skúta (“a small craft or cutter”). Compare shout (“flat-bottomed boat”), schuit.
noun scouts
- A swift sailing boat. So we took a scout, very much pleased with the manner and conversation of the passengers.
scout⁴
- /ˈskaʊ̯t/ US, UK
- /ˈskɐʊ̯t/
- /ˈskʌʊ̯t/
- /ˈskəʊ̯t/
- /ˈskɜʊ̯t/
- /ˈskæʊ̯t/
- /ˈskaːt/
Sounds like Scout · Rhymes with -aʊt
Where it comes from
Uncertain. The Dictionary of the Scots Language (DSL) groups the verb scout, scoot (/skut/, regionally /skʌut/) "cause liquid to gush" with a noun scout "sudden gush or flow of water, as from a spout or over rock", and considers the pair to be of Scandinavian origin, perhaps related to Old Norse skjóta (“shoot”); however, scout (or scut) was formerly also found as a word for "flow of water over rocks, waterfall; ridge or overhang of rocks" in various northern and central English dialects, and there suggested to have a different Norse origin, Old Norse skúti (“cave formed by jutting rocks”); it is possible that noun and the verb are unrelated. It is also unclear whether the noun meaning "guillemot" is related (the DSL gives it as a separate word, with separate spellings scout, scowt, skout, pronounced /skut/, of uncertain origin), but it might derive from their habit of pouring forth excrement.
verb scouts · scouting · scouted
- To pour forth a liquid forcibly, especially excrement; to cause a liquid to gush.
noun scouts
- The guillemot.
Scout⁵
Sounds like scout · Rhymes with -aʊt
noun Scouts
- A member of any of various scouting organizations.
- A member of one of several army units, such as the Selous Scouts or the Arunachal Scouts.
proper noun
- A nickname, used for both genders.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: reconnoitre, reconnoiter, sentry, sentinel, guide, lookout man, pathfinder, picket, talent scout, lookout, watch, reconnaissance, patrol, recruiting, hiring, brigade
Translations
Every language
noun person sent out to gain and bring in tidings
| Español | esculca, avanzada, avanzadilla, partida, cerniente |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 척후 cheokhu, 정찰병 jeongchalbyeong |
| 日本語 | 斥候 sekkō, 偵察兵 teisatsuhei |
| 中文 | 斥候 chìhòu, 偵察兵 /侦察兵 zhēnchábīng |
| हिन्दी | जासूस jāsūs |
| Kiswahili | skauti |
| Português | batedor |
| Français | éclaireur, éclaireuse |
| Deutsch | Kundschafter, Kundschafterin, Späher, Späherin |
| Italiano | esploratore |
| Ελληνικά | ανιχνευτής anichneftís, ανιχνεύτρια anichnéftria |
| Română | cercetaș, cercetașă |
| Русский | разве́дчик razvédčik, разве́дчица razvédčica |
| العربية | كَشَّاف kaššāf |
noun act of scouting
| 한국어 | 스카우트 seukauteu |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | スカウト sukauto |
| Português | batimento |
| Français | reconnaissance |
| Deutsch | Erkundung, Aufklärung |
| Italiano | ricognizione |
| Română | cercetare, recunoaștere |
| Русский | разве́дка razvédka |
noun member of the scout movement
| Español | scout |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 스카우트 seukauteu |
| 日本語 | スカウト sukauto |
| 中文 | 童子軍 /童子军 tóngzǐjūn, 童軍 /童军 tóngjūn |
| हिन्दी | स्काउट skāuṭ |
| Português | escoteiro |
| Français | éclaireur, scout |
| Deutsch | Pfadfinder, Pfadfinderin |
| Italiano | scout |
| Ελληνικά | πρόσκοπος próskopos |
| Română | cercetaș |
| Русский | ска́ут skáut, бойска́ут bojskáut, пионе́р pionér, пионе́рка pionérka |
| العربية | كَشَّاف kaššāf |
| עברית | צוֹפֶה tsofé |
verb to explore a wide terrain
| Español | batir la campaña, batir el campo, cernir |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 侦查 zhēnchá |
| हिन्दी | सर्वेक्षण sarvekṣaṇ, समीक्षा samīkṣā |
| Português | bater |
| Français | aller en reconnaissance, partir en reconnaissance, explorer, reconnaître le terrain |
| Deutsch | aufklären, auskundschaften, ausspähen, beobachten, erkunden, spähen |
| Italiano | esplorare, perlustrare |
verb to reject with contempt
| Русский | отверга́ть otvergátʹ, пренебрега́ть prenebregátʹ |
|---|
noun member of scouting organizations
| Tiếng Việt | thiếu sinh |
|---|
Talk about this word "scout." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/scout. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. scout. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/scout "scout." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/scout.Cite this
@misc{scout_2026,
title = {scout},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/scout},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
