clout

1. 1.

   a target used in archery

   Broadertarget
2. 2.

   special advantage or influence

   “the chairman's nephew has a lot of pull”

   Synonymspull

   Broaderadvantage
3. 3.

   a short nail with a flat head; used to attach sheet metal to wood

   Synonymsclout nail

   Broadernail
4. 4.

   (boxing) a blow with the fist

   “I gave him a clout on his nose”

   Synonymspunchpokelickbiffslug

   Broaderblow

   Narrowercounterpunchhaymakerhookjabrabbit punchsucker punch

   boxing

1. 1.

   strike hard, especially with the fist

   “He clouted his attacker”

   Broaderstrike

Other forms of clout

plural

clouts·

past tense

clouted·

present participle

clouting·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about clout

What does clout mean?

clout means "a target used in archery". That is the primary sense; the word has 5 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in clout?

clout has 1 syllable: clout. In IPA it is /ˈklaʊt/.

What is another word for clout?

Close synonyms include pull, clout nail, punch, poke, lick. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is clout a common word?

clout is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.