Meaning & use
tout
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To praise or promote something loudly and repeatedly, often to attract attention or support.
Grammar: Takes an object, often followed by as: tout something as a breakthrough.
Patterns
- tout something as something
- tout something to someone
The company touted its new phone as the fastest ever made.
Politicians tout their achievements before every election.
Her coach touted her as a future champion.
verbtransitive or intransitiveBritish
To try to sell something, or to solicit customers, in an aggressive way.
Grammar: Often used with for: tout for business.
Patterns
- tout for something
- tout something around
Vendors were touting tickets outside the stadium.
Drivers tout for passengers at the station.
He touted his services door to door.
nouncountableBritishdisapproving
A person who sells tickets unofficially, often at inflated prices, or who pesters people to buy something.
Grammar: Often 'ticket tout' in British English.
Patterns
- a ticket tout
A ticket tout offered us seats at triple the price.
Touts crowded the entrance of the market.
The police arrested a tout outside the concert.
Word forms
| third person singular | touts |
|---|---|
| past tense | touted |
| past participle | touted |
| -ing form | touting |
| plural | touts |
Common combinations
- tout as
- The firm touted the drug as a miracle cure.
- widely touted
- The widely touted plan never worked.
- ticket tout
- Ticket touts were selling tickets at triple the price.
- tout for business
- Taxi drivers tout for business outside the airport.
- heavily touted
- The heavily touted film disappointed critics.
Synonyms and how they differ
- promote
- Promote is a neutral word for advancing something, while tout implies loud, sometimes exaggerated praise.
- hype
- Hype is more informal and strongly suggests exaggeration.
- peddle
- Peddle means selling small goods or pushing ideas and often suggests low status or dishonesty.
- advertise
- Advertise means publicizing something formally, whereas tout can be spoken and personal.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: tout or taut?
tout vs taut
Taut means stretched tight, and sounds different from tout.
Practice
The brand has been ___ the new model as a game-changer for months.
Choose one answer.
Touting means promoting loudly. The other options do not fit with 'as a game-changer'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tout”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.