Bout

/ˈbaʊt/ · noun

Meaning

A period of something, especially one painful or unpleasant, like an illness..

Definitions by Sense

1. A period of something, especially one painful or unpleasant, like an illness.
2. (boxing) A boxing match.
3. (fencing) An assault (a fencing encounter) at which the score is kept.
4. (roller derby) A roller derby match.
5. A fighting competition.
6. (music) A bulge or widening in a musical instrument, such as either of the two characteristic bulges of a guitar.
7. (dated) The going and returning of a plough, or other implement used to mark the ground and create a headland, across a field.
8. To contest a bout.

Example Sentences

a bout of drought

a coughing bout

a long bout of the flu

The "King" responded well to this treatment and would have maintained 60 m.p.h. up the steepest part had it not been for a brief bout of slipping, which was quickly corrected by Driver Bailes ("Autumn leaves", he remarked laconically).

Jackson won lasting fame for his treatment of an alcoholic's painful disintegration in his first novel, The Lost Weekend, in which he suggested that the root of his protagonist's bouts with the bottle could be found in his repressed homosexuality.

Pope Francis was admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital on Friday, February 14, 2025, after suffering from a bout of bronchitis for several days.

An Italian boxer abandoned her bout at the Paris Olympics after only 46 seconds on Thursday, refusing to continue after taking a heavy punch from an Algerian opponent who had been disqualified from last year’s world championships over questions about her eligibility to compete in women’s sports.

Then they had bouts of wrestling and of cudgel play, so that every day they gained in skill and strength.

Synonyms for bout

Antonyms for bout

Related Words

Word Forms

• bouts
• bouting
• bouted

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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