lout

/laʊt/

//laʊt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"lout" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lout” is uncommon English (frequency #81,522 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#81,522
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A troublemaker, often violent; a rude violent person; a yob.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lout · lout · English

lout · rank #81,522 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #81,522
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH lugged

Nearest frequency peer: lugged (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “lout”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “lout” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for lout
PropertyValue
Headwordlout
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/laʊt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#81,522
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “lout” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).loutfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “lugged” (#81,523), “longus” (#81,520), “longa” (#81,519). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lout” is #81,522. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

lout is uncommon English at frequency #81,522 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /laʊt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for lout, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Of dialectal origin, likely derived from Middle English louten (“to bow, bend low, stoop over”), from Old English lūtan (“to bow, bend forward, stoop”), from Proto-West Germanic *lūtan, from Proto-Germanic *lūtaną (“to bow down, lout”). Alternatively, deriv… The correct English form is lout, spelled L-O-U-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A troublemaker, often violent; a rude violent person; a yob.
  2. 2
    A clownish, awkward fellow; a bumpkin.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how lout appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. But the lout looked only to his market, and was not easily repulsed. “He’s there, I tell you,” he persisted. “And for threepence I’ll get you to see him. Come on, your honour! It’s many a Westminster election I’ve seen, and beer running, from Mr. Fox,[…]when maybe it’s your honour’s going to stand! Anyway, it’s, Down with the mongers!”
  2. You see louts fresh from school kicking grey-haired servants.

Etymology

Of dialectal origin, likely derived from Middle English louten (“to bow, bend low, stoop over”), from Old English lūtan (“to bow, bend forward, stoop”), from Proto-West Germanic *lūtan, from Proto-Germanic *lūtaną (“to bow down, lout”). Alternatively, derived from Middle English louten (“to hide, lurk”), from Old English lūtian (“to lurk, skulk”), from Proto-West Germanic *lūtēn (“to be hidden, be concealed”). Compare Old Norse lútr (“stooping”), Gothic 𐌻𐌿𐍄𐍉𐌽 (lutōn, “to deceive”). Non-Germanic cognates are probably Old Church Slavonic лоудити (luditi, “to deceive”), Serbo-Croatian lud and Albanian lut (“to beg, pray”).

This word in other languages

salvaje(Español)voyou(Français)Flegel(Deutsch)grosso(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lout"?
"lout" is spelled L-O-U-T. The IPA pronunciation is /laʊt/.
What does "lout" mean?
As a noun, "lout" means: A troublemaker, often violent; a rude violent person; a yob.
How do you pronounce "lout"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lout" is /laʊt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "lout"?
Of dialectal origin, likely derived from Middle English louten (“to bow, bend low, stoop over”), from Old English lūtan (“to bow, bend forward, stoop”), from Proto-West Germanic *lūtan, from Proto-Germanic *lūtaną (“to bow down, lout”). Alternativ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lout", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

leva#81,504kudu#81,482Kosh#81,476koku#81,473

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list