spout

[spout]

verb (used with object)

1. to emit or discharge forcibly (a liquid, granulated substance, etc.) in a stream or jet.

2. Informal.,  to state or declaim volubly or in an oratorical manner.

   He spouted his theories on foreign policy for the better part of the night.

verb (used without object)

1. to discharge, as a liquid, in a jet or continuous stream.

   Synonyms: pour, livestream, squirt

2. to issue forth with force, as liquid or other material through a narrow orifice.

   Synonyms: pour, livestream, squirt

3. Informal.,  to talk or speak at some length or in an oratorical manner.

   Synonyms: speechify, harangue, rant, declaim

noun

1. a pipe, tube, or liplike projection through or by which a liquid is discharged, poured, or conveyed.

   Synonyms: nose, nozzle

2. a trough or shoot for discharging or conveying grain, flour, etc.

3. a waterspout.

4. a continuous stream of liquid, granulated substance, etc., discharged from or as if from a pipe, tube, shoot, etc.

5. a spring of water.

6. a downpour or fall, especially of water, from a high place; waterfall.

7. a dumbwaiter or chute, formerly common in pawnbrokers' shops, by which articles pawned were sent to another floor for storage.

8. British Slang.,  pawnshop.

spout

/ spaʊt /

verb

1. to discharge (a liquid) in a continuous jet or in spurts, esp through a narrow gap or under pressure, or (of a liquid) to gush thus

2. (of a whale, etc) to discharge air through the blowhole, so that it forms a spray at the surface of the water

3. informal,  to utter (a stream of words) on a subject, often at length

noun

1. a tube, pipe, chute, etc, allowing the passage or pouring of liquids, grain, etc

2. a continuous stream or jet of liquid

3. short for waterspout

4. slang

   1. ruined or lost

      any hope of rescue is right up the spout

   2. pregnant

Other Word Forms

• spouter noun
• spoutless adjective
• spoutlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of spout¹

First recorded in 1300–50; (verb) Middle English spouten; cognate with Dutch spuiten; akin to the Old Norse verb spȳta spit ¹; (noun) Middle English spowt(e) “pipe,” akin to the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of spout¹

C14: perhaps from Middle Dutch spouten, from Old Norse spyta to spit

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. up the spout,

   1. pawned.

   2. in a desperate situation; beyond help.

      His financial affairs are up the spout.

Synonym Study

See flow.

Example Sentences

“I thought, ‘Oh, there would be a point where your life almost wasn’t worth living,’ and the thought of euthanizing someone who’s spouting adverts at you was darkly comic, but tragic, obviously.”

From Los Angeles Times

But much of what they are spouting is self-help, internet based, anecdotal nonsense.

From Salon

It comes just days after Grok sparked backlash for spouting antisemitic posts, including praise for Adolf Hitler on X, the social media platform owned by Musk.

From BBC

His global reputation, as an overgrown godlike Boy Scout spouting American ideals, for years made him less hip for modern viewers than his brooding billionaire vigilante counterpoint, Batman.

From Los Angeles Times

"It's not just Andrew Tate, there are many subsets of Andrew Tate on social media who are spouting the same misogynistic hate - that is an undeniable fact and we should be very concerned about it."

From BBC

Related Words

• gush