Scout definition | Dictionary.com

scout

1 [skout]

–noun

1.	a soldier, warship, airplane, etc., employed in reconnoitering.

2.	a person sent out to obtain information.

Sports.

a.	a person who observes and reports on the techniques, players, etc., of opposing teams.

b.	a person sent out by a team to observe and recommend new talent for recruitment.

4.	a talent scout, as in the entertainment field.

5.	an act or instance of reconnoitering, inspecting, observing, etc.

6.	(sometimes initial capital letter) a Boy Scout or Girl Scout.

7.	Informal. a person: He's a good scout.

8.	a man acting as servant to a student at Oxford University.

–verb (used without object)

9.	to act as a scout; reconnoiter.

10.	to make a search; hunt.

11.	to work as a talent scout.

–verb (used with object)

12.	to examine, inspect, or observe for the purpose of obtaining information; reconnoiter: to scout the enemy's defenses.

13.	to seek; search for (usually fol. by out or up): to scout up a date for Friday night.

14.	to find by seeking, searching, or looking (usually fol. by out or up): Scout out a good book for me to read.

Origin:
1300–50; (v.) ME skowten < OF escouter, escolter, ascolter (F écouter to listen) < LL ascultāre, L auscultāre to listen; see auscultate; (n.) < MF escoute, deriv. of escouter

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
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scout

2 [skout]

–verb (used with object)

1.	to treat with scorn; dismiss.

2.	to make fun of; deride; mock.

–verb (used without object)

3.	to scoff; jeer.

Origin:
1595–1605; perh. < ON skūta, skūt abuse, angry words. See shout

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

scout¹   (skout) Pronunciation Key
v.   scout·ed, scout·ing, scouts

v.   tr.

To spy on or explore carefully in order to obtain information; reconnoiter.
To observe and evaluate (a talented person), as for possible hiring.

v. intr.

To search as a scout: scout around for some gossip.
To search for talented people: scouts for a professional basketball team.

1. One that is dispatched from a main body to gather information, especially in preparation for military action.
2. The act of reconnoitering.
3. A member of the Boy Scouts.
4. A member of the Girl Scouts.
A watcher or sentinel.
One who is employed to discover and recruit talented persons, especially in the fields of sports and entertainment.
Sports One who is employed to observe and report on the strategies and players of rival teams.
often Scout
1. A member of the Boy Scouts.
2. A member of the Girl Scouts.
Informal An individual; a person: a good scout.
Chiefly British A student's male servant at Oxford University.

[From Middle English scoute, act of watching or spying, from Old French escoute, from escouter, to listen, alteration of ascouter, from Vulgar Latin *ascultāre, alteration of Latin auscultāre; see ous- in Indo-European roots.]
scout'er n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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scout²   (skout) Pronunciation Key
v.   scout·ed, scout·ing, scouts

v.   tr.
To reject with disdain or derision. See Synonyms at despise.
v.   intr.
To treat another with derision; scoff.

[Of Scandinavian origin; see skeud- in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
scout (v1.)

c.1300, from O.Fr. escouter "to listen, heed" (Mod.Fr. écouter), from L. auscultare "to listen to, give heed to." Noun meaning "person who scouts" first attested 1555. Boy Scout is from 1908.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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scout (v2.)

"to reject with scorn," 1605, of Scand. origin (cf. O.N. skuta, skute "taunt"), probably from a source related to shout.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

scout
noun
1.	a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event [syn: lookout]
2.	a Boy Scout or Girl Scout
3.	someone employed to discover and recruit talented persons (especially in the worlds of entertainment or sports)
4.	someone who can find paths through unexplored territory
verb
1.	explore, often with the goal of finding something or somebody

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

scout

see good egg (scout).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Scout

Scout\, n. A boy scout (which see, above).

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Scout

Scout\ (skout), n. [Icel. sk[=u]ta a small craft or cutter.] A swift sailing boat. [Obs.]

So we took a scout, very much pleased with the manner and conversation of the passengers. --Pepys.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Scout

Scout\, n. [Icel. sk[=u]ta to jut out. Cf. Scout to reject.] A projecting rock. [Prov. Eng.] --Wright.

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Scout

Scout\ (skout), v. t. [Icel. sk[=u]ta a taunt; cf. Icel. sk[=u]ta to jut out, skota to shove, skj[=o]ta to shoot, to shove. See Shoot.] To reject with contempt, as something absurd; to treat with ridicule; to flout; as, to scout an idea or an apology. "Flout 'em and scout 'em." --Shak.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Scout

Scout\, n. [OF. escoute scout, spy, fr. escouter, escolter, to listen, to hear, F. ['e]couter, fr. L. auscultare, to hear with attention, to listen to. See Auscultation.]

1. A person sent out to gain and bring in tidings; especially, one employed in war to gain information of the movements and condition of an enemy.

Scouts each coast light-arm[`e]d scour, Each quarter, to descry the distant foe. --Milton.

2. A college student's or undergraduate's servant; -- so called in Oxford, England; at Cambridge called a gyp; and at Dublin, a skip. [Cant]

3. (Cricket) A fielder in a game for practice.

4. The act of scouting or reconnoitering. [Colloq.]

While the rat is on the scout. --Cowper.

Syn: Scout, Spy.

Usage: In a military sense a scout is a soldier who does duty in his proper uniform, however hazardous his adventure. A spy is one who in disguise penetrates the enemies' lines, or lurks near them, to obtain information.

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Scout

Scout\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Scouted; p. pr. & vb. n. Scouting.]

1. 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. --Beau. & Fl.

2. To pass over or through, as a scout; to reconnoiter; as, to scout a country.

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Scout

Scout\, v. i. To go on the business of scouting, or watching the motions of an enemy; to act as a scout.

With obscure wing Scout far and wide into the realm of night. --Milton.