Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
scout - 14 dictionary results

scout

1  [skout]
Use scout in a Sentence
–noun
1. a soldier, warship, airplane, etc., employed in reconnoitering.
2. a person sent out to obtain information.
3. 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

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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To scout
scout 1   (skout)   
v.   scout·ed, scout·ing, scouts

v.   tr.
  1. To spy on or explore carefully in order to obtain information; reconnoiter.
  2. To observe and evaluate (a talented person), as for possible hiring.
v.   intr.
  1. To search as a scout: scout around for some gossip.
  2. To search for talented people: scouts for a professional basketball team.
n.  
    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.
  2. A watcher or sentinel.
  3. One who is employed to discover and recruit talented persons, especially in the fields of sports and entertainment.
  4. Sports One who is employed to observe and report on the strategies and players of rival teams.
  5. often Scout
    1. A member of the Boy Scouts.
    2. A member of the Girl Scouts.
  6. Informal An individual; a person: a good scout.
  7. 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.
scout 2   (skout)   
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 © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Scout

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

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.

Scout

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

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.

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.

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.

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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : scout
Spanish: explorador,
German: der, *die Kundschafter(in),
Japanese: 偵察兵
More Translations »

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.

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
Cite This Source

scout

see good egg (scout).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see scout on Thesaurus | Reference