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 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. (modern) 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. (historical) 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. (UK) A fielder in a game for practice.
9. (UK, historical) A fighter aircraft.
10. A preliminary image that allows the technician to make adjustments before the actual diagnostic images.
11. (informal) A term of address for a man or boy.

Verb

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

Verb

1. (transitive) To reject with contempt.
2. (transitive) To reject the ideas or beliefs of (a person).
3. (intransitive) To scoff.

Verb

To pour forth a liquid forcibly, especially excrement; to cause a liquid to gush.

Synonyms

spy

watch

⌚

sentinel

sentry

reconnoiter

talent scout

lookout

spotter

boy scout

watchman

observe

reconnoitre

picket

guide

patrol

girl scout

guard

💂

lookout man

pathfinder

spy at

spy upon

headhunter

reconnoitering party

explorer

inquire

keeper

lead

look after

look into

overrule

patroller

perceiver

pioneer

precede

probe

prospector

pry

reconnaissance

refuse

reject

reporter

road sign

screener

search out

security guard

seek

🔍

shed

sightseeing

sleuth

snitch

Translations

scout

éclaireur

Pfadfinder

padvinder

Späher

explorador

esploratore

verkenner

πρόσκοπος

ανιχνευτής

Kundschafter

scout

boy-scout

ricognitore

Pronounced as (IPA)

/skaʊt/

Etymology

Cognate with Old Norse: skúta

Cognate with Middle English: scoute

Cognate with English: shout

Inherited from Middle English: scoute

In summary

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.