lout

1 of 3

verb (1)

louted; louting; louts

intransitive verb

1
: to bow in respect
lout as the queen passed by
2
: submit, yield
louted to the emperor

lout

2 of 3

noun

: an awkward brutish person

lout

3 of 3

verb (2)

louted; louting; louts

transitive verb

: to treat as a lout : scorn

Did you know?

Lout belongs to a large group of words that we use to indicate a particular sort of offensive and insensitive person, that group also including such terms as boor, oaf, jerk, and churl. We've used lout in this way since the mid-1500s. As early as the 800s, however, lout functioned as a verb with the meaning "to bow in respect." No one is quite sure how—or even if—the verb sense developed into a noun meaning "a brutish person." The noun could have been coined independently, but if its source was the verb, perhaps the awkward posture of one bowing down led over the centuries to the idea that the bowing person was base and awkward as well.

Examples of lout in a Sentence

Noun watch where you're going, you big lout! Howard's rude behavior at the country club earned him a reputation as a lout.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The man was a faker, a brute and a lout. Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2021 What if Rocky Balboa were an arrogant lout? Kyle Smith, WSJ, 2 Mar. 2023 Douglas, as contemptuous of the lout as he is prudently inhibited about asserting himself, channels his just fury into an intellectually flamboyant torrent of sarcastic rhetoric—leading other white patrons, assuming Douglas to be the aggressor, to consider calling the police. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2021 The most arresting is Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, a heavy-drinking lout with legendarily twisted and peaked eyebrows, whose ineptitude as a military commanderdid not impede his rise to the presidency of Pakistan. Washington Post, 15 Apr. 2022 Just picture some lout like, say, Biff from Back to the Future, and imagine his face upon learning a hot candy character swapped stilettos for practical block heels. Diane Brady, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2023 The major debut is that of Alexander Birch Elliott, who’s Enrico as the drunken lout of your nightmares. Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2022 Amid the crises of cinema and history, Alana gets her overflowing good will and untapped competence into gear, and Gary, a lout in the making, learns to be not just a man but a mensch. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2021 Knowing that Seb is a two-timing lout, Pippa is soon compelled to more actively interfere in a relationship that doesn’t concern her, leading to apparent tragedy and then further domestic strife between her and Thomas. Nick Schager, Variety, 8 Sep. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lout.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English, from Old English lūtan; akin to Old Norse lūta to bow down

Noun

perhaps from lout entry 1

First Known Use

Verb (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1542, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

circa 1530, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lout was before the 12th century

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Dictionary Entries Near lout

Cite this Entry

“Lout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lout. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

lout

noun
ˈlau̇t
: a stupid, rude, or awkward person
loutish
-ish
adjective
loutishly adverb
loutishness noun

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