tout
gb/tˈaʊt/ us/tˈaʊt/
B2
English
~ 9200
reklámoz, népszerűsít, kuncsaftra vadászik, vevőket hajt, jegyekkel üzérkedik, neppel, reklámember, szószóló, kuncsafthajhász, behívóember, jegyüzér, jegyhiéna, spicli, besúgó
VERB
B2
1
reklámoz
A2
népszerűsít
B2
Usage pattern:
to tout [something] (as) [something]
The company is heavily touting its new smartphone as a game-changer.
A cég erősen reklámozza az új okostelefonját, mint ami gyökeresen megváltoztatja a piacot.
Critics say the drug was irresponsibly touted as a miracle cure.
A kritikusok szerint felelőtlenül csodaszerként reklámozták a gyógyszert.
The tourism board has been touting the city as a top destination for food lovers.
Analysts are touting the stock as a safe long‑term investment.
The startup was widely touted as the next big thing in fintech.
Learner examples
The ad touts the car as very safe.
A hirdetés nagyon biztonságos autóként reklámozza a kocsit.
The school website touts its sports program.
Az iskola honlapja a sportprogramját reklámozza.
He touts his app as the fastest way to order food.
The hotel touts free breakfast and free Wi‑Fi.
They tout the plan as good for everyone.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse "tout" with "shout" and try to use it with the preposition "about" (e.g., *"They touted about the product"). In this sense, "tout" is usually followed directly by the object, often with "as": "They touted the product as a success." Another common mistake is spelling it as "taut," which is a different word.
Meaning
publicly promote something with praise
Collocations
tout a product
|tout the benefits
|tout the advantages
|tout the company
|tout as a success
|aggressively tout
Synonyms
promote (More general and neutral; does not always suggest very strong or exaggerated praise.)
|
publicize (Focuses on making something known; less about praising than 'tout'.)
|
hype (Informal and often negative; suggests exaggerated or excessive promotion.)
Antonyms
downplay (Means to make something seem less important or impressive, the opposite of strongly praising it.)
|
ignore (Not giving attention or promotion to something, contrasting with active promotion.)
Themes
business
|media
|marketing
|communication
Definition
To say many good things about something so people will like it, buy it, or believe it.
To advertise or praise something in a strong or persistent way in order to persuade people to support it, buy it, or believe it.
VERB
C1
2
Usage pattern:
to tout for [business/customers] / to tout [something] to [someone]
Taxi drivers were loudly touting for fares outside the airport.
A taxisok hangosan utasokra vadásztak a repülőtér előtt.
Dozens of salespeople lined the street, touting their tours to passing tourists.
Tucatnyi árus sorakozott az utcán, és az arra járó turistáknak kínálgatta a túráit.
Agents stood near the exit, touting apartments to anyone who would stop and listen.
Unlicensed guides were touting their services at the temple gates.
Restaurants along the strip tout menus at people walking by.
Learner examples
Many taxi drivers tout for business at the station.
Sok taxis utasra vadászik az állomásnál.
People stood outside the club, touting tickets to the show.
Emberek álltak a klub előtt, és a műsorra próbáltak jegyeket eladni.
He walked up and down the beach, touting cold drinks.
Salesmen tout their services to people in the mall.
At the market, men tout for customers all day.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use "tout" only in the marketing/media sense and do not realize it can mean physically approaching people, as in "touting for business". Also, they may say *"tout for sell" instead of the correct pattern "tout for business" or "tout for customers".
Meaning
actively seek customers in public
Collocations
tout for business
|tout for custom
|street vendors touting
|taxi drivers touting for fares
|touting their services
|touting outside the venue
Synonyms
solicit (More formal; can be neutral or negative and is common in legal or official contexts.)
|
peddle (Often suggests going from place to place trying to sell, sometimes with a negative tone.)
Antonyms
refuse (To say no to offering or taking business, opposite of actively seeking it.)
|
withdraw (To pull back from offering services or doing business, the opposite of actively pursuing customers.)
Themes
business
|travel
|daily life
|communication
|daily_life
Definition
To try hard to get people to buy something or use a service, usually by talking to people in the street or another public place.
To try to sell something or obtain customers in a direct, often persistent way, especially by approaching or calling out to people in public places.
VERB
C1
INFORMAL
3
neppel
C1
Usage pattern:
to tout [tickets] (outside [a place])
Several men were arrested for touting tickets outside the stadium.
Több férfit letartóztattak, mert jegyekkel üzérkedtek a stadion előtt.
He was caught touting concert tickets at three times their original price.
Azon kapták, hogy koncertjegyekkel üzérkedik az eredeti ár háromszorosáért.
The new law aims to crack down on people who tout tickets online.
Fans complained that organized groups were touting thousands of tickets on resale sites.
Police warned that anyone touting tickets near the arena would be fined.
Learner examples
They tried to tout tickets outside the football game.
Megpróbáltak jegyekkel üzérkedni a focimeccs előtt.
He was fined for touting concert tickets on the street.
Megbírságolták, mert koncertjegyeket árult feketén az utcán.
People were touting tickets online for very high prices.
The club says fans must not tout their season tickets.
Ticket touting is not allowed in this city.
Common mistake:
Learners may not realize this verb sense is mainly British and Irish English and that American English usually uses "scalp" for this activity. They may also confuse it with simply "sell tickets" without the idea of buying them first for profit.
Meaning
resell tickets for profit
Collocations
tout tickets
|touting tickets outside
|touting concert tickets
|touting football tickets
|ticket touting is illegal
|arrested for touting
Synonyms
scalp (Mainly North American; commonly used for reselling tickets at a higher price.)
Antonyms
resell at face value (To sell the ticket for its original price, not for extra profit.)
Themes
law
|business
|entertainment
|arts_entertainment
Definition
To buy tickets and then sell them again for more money, usually in a way that is not allowed.
To buy tickets for an event and then try to resell them at a higher price, often in a way that is restricted or illegal.
NOUN
C1
4
reklámember
B2
szószóló
B2
He became a well‑known tout for the supplement industry.
A táplálékkiegészítő-ipar ismert reklámembere lett.
Some analysts dismissed him as just another stock tout.
Néhány elemző csak egy újabb, részvényeket futtató reklámembernek tartotta.
The documentary accuses certain doctors of acting as touts for drug companies.
Online touts flooded social media with praise for the new coin.
She insisted she was an independent expert, not a corporate tout.
Learner examples
He works as a tout for a big car company.
Egy nagy autógyár reklámembereként dolgozik.
Many people think the TV host is a tout for the diet industry.
Sokan úgy gondolják, hogy a tévéműsorvezető a diétaipar reklámembere.
The article says some doctors are touts for drug firms.
They called him a tout because he always praises that brand.
Fans say he is more of a tout than a real critic.
Common mistake:
Learners may assume "tout" as a noun is very common in all contexts. In reality, this noun is frequent in specific areas like finance, gambling, and marketing, and it often has a slightly negative feel.
Meaning
person who promotes something
Collocations
a stock tout
|a paid tout
|industry touts
|online touts
|political touts
|a tout for the brand
Synonyms
promoter (Neutral; widely used, especially in business and entertainment, and does not always carry the slightly negative tone of "tout".)
|
shill (Informal and strongly negative; suggests secretly paid or dishonest praise.)
Antonyms
critic (Someone who points out problems and speaks against something, opposite of praising and promoting it.)
Themes
business
|media
|marketing
|communication
Definition
Someone who talks a lot about how good something is, usually to make other people buy it or believe it.
A person who actively and publicly praises or promotes something, often because they are paid or have a strong interest in it succeeding.
NOUN
B2
5
behívóember
B2
We were surrounded by touts the moment we left the station.
Amint kijöttünk az állomásról, rögtön kuncsafthajhászok vettek körül minket.
Hotel touts followed the tourists down the street, waving brochures.
A szállodai kuncsafthajhászok prospektusokat lobogtatva követték a turistákat az utcán.
A taxi tout grabbed his bag and tried to lead him to an unlicensed cab.
The city has banned touts from working near major attractions.
She ignored the bar touts and chose a quiet place to eat.
Learner examples
Many touts wait for tourists at the airport.
Sok kuncsafthajhász vár a turistákra a repülőtéren.
A hotel tout tried to sell us a room.
Egy szállodai kuncsafthajhász megpróbált ránk sózni egy szobát.
Taxi touts shouted, "Taxi, taxi!" at every visitor.
The guide warned us about touts near the museum.
Touts can make new visitors feel stressed.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think "tout" only refers to people selling tickets, but it can also mean people trying to get customers for hotels, taxis, bars, tours, and so on.
Meaning
street seller who solicits customers
Collocations
hotel tout
|taxi tout
|bar tout
|street touts
|aggressive touts
|touts outside the station
Synonyms
hawker (Focuses more on selling goods in the street; may not always involve calling out to passers‑by as strongly as a tout.)
|
runner (In some contexts (e.g. nightlife, tourism), used for someone who brings customers to a place, similar to a tout.)
Antonyms
customer (The person being approached and sold to, not the person doing the selling.)
Themes
business
|travel
|daily life
|communication
|daily_life
Definition
Someone who walks up to people in the street and tries to make them buy something or use a service.
A person who tries to get customers for a business or service by approaching or calling out to people in public places, often in a persistent way.
NOUN
B2
6
Ticket touts lined the pavement outside the concert hall.
Jegyüzérek sorakoztak a járdán a koncertterem előtt.
The club warned fans not to buy from touts.
A klub figyelmeztette a szurkolókat, hogy ne vegyenek jegyet jegyüzérektől.
New rules target online ticket touts who use bots to buy in bulk.
Police moved in to disperse touts operating near the stadium.
He insists he is not a tout and only sells spare tickets at face value.
Learner examples
A ticket tout offered us seats near the stage.
Egy jegyüzér a színpadhoz közeli helyeket ajánlott nekünk.
The sign says, "No ticket touts."
A táblán ez áll: „Jegyüzérkedés tilos.”
Touts sold the match tickets for very high prices.
You should not buy from a ticket tout.
The police arrested several ticket touts.
Common mistake:
Learners may not realize that "ticket tout" is British and Irish English and that American English usually says "ticket scalper". They may also mistakenly think any person selling tickets is a "tout", but the word usually suggests reselling at higher prices.
Meaning
person who resells tickets for profit
Collocations
ticket tout
|illegal touts
|football touts
|touts outside the stadium
|online ticket touts
|crack down on touts
Synonyms
scalper (Mainly North American; the usual word there for a person who resells tickets for profit.)
Antonyms
official seller (A person or company authorized to sell tickets at the normal price, not for extra profit.)
Themes
law
|business
|entertainment
|arts_entertainment
Definition
Someone who buys tickets and then sells them again for more money, usually when this is not allowed.
A person who buys tickets for events and then resells them at a higher price, often in a way that is restricted or illegal.
NOUN
C2
SLANG
7
In some communities, being labelled a tout can be a death sentence.
Bizonyos közösségekben az, ha valakit spiclinek bélyegeznek, halálos ítélettel érhet fel.
The group believed he was a police tout and drove him out of the area.
A csoport azt hitte, hogy rendőrségi spicli, és elűzte a környékről.
Murals appeared on the walls naming alleged touts.
He denied ever working as a tout for the security forces.
The film explores the dangerous life of an undercover tout inside a paramilitary organisation.
Learner examples
They called him a tout for talking to the police.
Spiclinek nevezték, mert beszélt a rendőrökkel.
In that area, people are afraid to be seen as touts.
Arrafelé az emberek félnek attól, hogy spiclinek lássák őket.
The gang says it will punish any tout.
He was killed because they thought he was a tout.
The news report used the word "tout" for a police informer.
Common mistake:
Learners often do not know this slang sense and may misunderstand news or films from Ireland or parts of the UK where "tout" means "informer". It should not be used in general conversation unless you are sure of the local meaning and tone.
Meaning
slang for police informer
Collocations
police tout
|an IRA tout
|call someone a tout
|suspected tout
|accused of being a tout
|shot as a tout
Synonyms
informant (More formal and neutral; used in police and legal language without the strong emotional or political judgment.)
|
snitch (Informal slang; similar idea of someone who informs, usually in a negative way.)
Antonyms
ally (Someone who supports and stays loyal to a group, the opposite of secretly informing on it.)
Themes
crime
|law
|politics
Definition
In some places, a slang word for a person who secretly tells the police about criminals or groups, and is hated as a traitor.
In some varieties of English, especially Irish and British slang, a person who informs the police or authorities about criminals or political groups, often seen as a traitor.
Grammar
Dictionary form
tout
IPA
GB/tˈaʊt/
US/tˈaʊt/
Syllables & stress
tout (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (tout)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: tout
- Plural: touts
Verb
- Base: tout
- 3rd Person Singular: touts
- Present Participle: touting
- Past: touted
Word family
Forms
touts
noun
touting
verb
touted
verb
Expressions
ticket tout
1/tˈɪkɪt tˈaʊt/
fixed phrase
person who resells tickets illegally
In British and Irish English, a person who buys tickets for a show or game and then tries to sell them again for more money, usually when this is not allowed.
Examples
- We were approached by a ticket tout outside the stadium.
- New regulations aim to stop ticket touts from using online bots.
- The club asked fans to report any ticket touts they see.
tout as
1/tˈaʊt ˈæz/
fixed phrase
promote something by giving it a label
To say that something or someone is a particular kind of thing (for example, "a success" or "the best") in order to make people like it or believe in it.
Examples
- The drug was initially touted as a miracle cure for obesity.
- The scheme is being touted as a model for other cities to follow.
- She is widely touted as a future leader of the party.
tout for business
1/tˈaʊt fɚ bˈɪznɪs/
fixed phrase
seek customers in public places
To stand in a public place and try to get people to use your service or buy from your business.
Examples
- Taxi drivers are not allowed to tout for business inside the terminal.
- Dozens of guides were touting for business outside the ruins.
- He spent the afternoon on the street, touting for business for the new bar.