Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

scout

/ˈskaʊ̯t/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.97 in modern English

Syllables
scout
IPA
/ˈskaʊ̯t/
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person sent out to gather and bring back information; especially, one employed in war to gain information about the enemy and ground.

noun

An act of scouting or reconnoitering.

noun

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.

noun

A person who assesses or recruits others; especially, one who identifies promising talent on behalf of a sports team.

noun

A person employed to monitor rivals' activities in the petroleum industry.

noun

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.

noun

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.

noun

A fielder in a game for practice.

British usage

Example Sentences

Etymology

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.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: scout, escoute, auscultō, scoute, schûte, schute

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈskaʊ̯t/
  • British English: /ˈskaʊ̯t/

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Military.

Inflected Forms

scouts (plural) scouts (present, singular) scouting (participle, present) scouted (participle, past) scouted (past)

Derived Forms

scoutess scouthouse scoutmaster

Phrases

boy scout go on the scout scout balloon scout car Scout Green Scout Official for a Day scout team talent scout

Frequently Paired Words

Scout in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Synonyms

espial espy survey reconnoiter lookout sentinel sentry watch spotter picket

Homonyms

Scout

Rhymes With

about out all-out without throughout doubt stake-out shout bout drought trout stout

Questions

How do you pronounce scout?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈskaʊ̯t/.
What does scout mean?
A person sent out to gather and bring back information; especially, one employed in war to gain information about the enemy and ground.
Where does scout come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce scout

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “scout”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈskaʊ̯t/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “scout”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “scout” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.