: a spell or period of activity: such as
a
: an athletic match (as of boxing)
lost his bout with the champion
b
: outbreak, attack
a bout of pneumonia
frequent bouts of depression
survived her bout with cancer
c
: session
a drinking bout
a bout of unemployment

Examples of bout in a Sentence

undoubtedly the team's best wrestler, he hasn't lost a bout yet she's currently suffering from a bout of the flu
Recent Examples on the Web Her doctors initially diagnosed her with fibroids in 2022 after ongoing bouts of intense vaginal bleeding, including an episode where she was found unresponsive in her bathroom after bleeding out. Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 19 Mar. 2024 Drone footage, which was first published by The U.S. Sun, showed large crowds of co-eds sprawled out across the beach, and a fun beach boxing bout with gloves, a ref and an overexcited crowd cheering them on. Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 12 Mar. 2024 Inoki spent most of the bout slide-kicking Ali’s legs,which prevented the U.S. boxer from landing many punches. Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024 The bout is scheduled to take place on July 20 at the AT&T Stadium in Texas and will be available to all Netflix subscribers. Joe Otterson, Variety, 7 Mar. 2024 The match will be included for all Netflix subscribers (many other boxing bouts still use a pay-per-view model), though tickets will be sold to fill the 80,000-seat arena. Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024 All three kids have suffered long bouts of diarrhea, for which medicine is difficult to find. Claire Porter Robbins, The New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2024 Those areas were expected to see between 1 to 4 inches of snow, the weather service said, although an advisory issued Sunday morning still warned that places impacted by the current bout of blustery winter weather should brace for possible wind gusts throughout the day of up to 45 miles per hour. Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 3 Mar. 2024 The 27-year-old’s next bout is against all-time great Tyson, who will be 58 for the July 20 match. Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bout.' 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

English dialect, a trip going and returning in plowing, from Middle English bought bend

First Known Use

1575, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bout was in 1575

Dictionary Entries Near bout

Cite this Entry

“Bout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bout. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bout

noun
1
: a spell of activity
nonstop bout of reading
2
: an athletic match
wrestling bout
3
: attack entry 2 sense 3
a bout of measles

More from Merriam-Webster on bout

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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