clout
/klaʊt/noun, verb
clout is spelled C-L-O-U-T: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,516th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, clout means “Influence or effectiveness, especially political” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of clout is clouts.
How many letters and syllables are in clout?
| Letters | 5: C-L-O-U-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,516th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is clout?
Clout appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,516th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce clout?
- UK /klaʊt/
- US /klaʊt/
- US [klʌʊt]
Clout has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-clout.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-clout.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with clout
Also written: clot.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with clout?
10 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as clout from its last stressed vowel (/aʊt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of clout
- clouts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- clouting participle, present
- clouted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does clout mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
informalInfluence or effectiveness, especially political.
- 2
A blow with the hand.
- 3
informalA home run.
- 4
The center of the butt at which archers shoot; probably once a piece of white cloth or a nail head.
- 5
datedA swaddling cloth, nappy, or loincloth.
- 6
archaicA cloth; a piece of cloth or leather; a patch; a rag.
- 7
archaicAn iron plate on an axletree or other wood to keep it from wearing; a washer.
- 8
A clout nail.
verb
- 1
To hit (someone or something), especially with the fist.
- 2
To cover with cloth, leather, or other material; to bandage, patch, or mend with a clout.
- 3
To stud with nails, as a timber, or a boot sole.
- 4
To guard with an iron plate, as an axletree.
- 5
To join or patch clumsily.
- 6
datedDated form of clot.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Clout in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | influence , coup |
| German | Einfluss, Gewicht, Durchsetzungskraft , Kopfnuss , schlagen |
| Spanish | cuña, valimiento , mamporro |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does clout come from?
From Middle English clout (“piece of cloth”), from Old English clūt (“piece of cloth, patch; metal plate”), from Proto-West Germanic *klūt, from Proto-Germanic *klūtaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gelewdos, from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to ball up, amass”). The influence sense originated in the dialect of Chicago, but has become widespread.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).