scout

Meaning

Noun

1. A person sent out to gain and bring in tidings; especially, one employed in war to gain information about the enemy and ground.
2. An act of scouting or reconnoitering.
3. 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.
4. A person who assesses and/or recruits others; especially, one who identifies promising talent on behalf of a sports team.
5. A person employed to monitor rivals' activities in the petroleum industry.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. A fielder in a game for practice.
9. A fighter aircraft.
10. A preliminary image that allows the technician to make adjustments before the actual diagnostic images.
11. (informal) Term of address for a man or boy.

Verb

1. To explore a wide terrain, as if on a search.
2. To observe, watch, or look for, as a scout; to follow for the purpose of observation, as a scout.

Verb

1. To reject with contempt.
2. To scoff.

Verb

To pour forth a liquid forcibly, especially excrement.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/skaʊt/

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.