bout

noun

ˈbau̇t 

: a spell or period of activity: such as

a

: an athletic match (as of boxing)

lost his bout with the champion

b

: outbreak, attack

a bout of pneumonia

frequent bouts of depression

survived her bout with cancer

c

: session

a drinking bout

a bout of unemployment

Synonyms

• competition
• contest
• event
• game
• match
• matchup
• meet
• sweepstakes
• sweep-stake
• tournament
• tourney

Examples of bout in a Sentence

undoubtedly the team's best wrestler, he hasn't lost a bout yet

she's currently suffering from a bout of the flu

Recent Examples on the Web

In fact, Wall Street fears Trump may even ignite the next bout of inflation due to his profligate fiscal proposals. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2024

In the past few years, some parts of the country have experienced unseasonably harsh winters or unexpected bouts of extreme cold with temperatures low enough to trigger severe one to two Raynaud’s attacks in a week, Bush said. —John Loeppky, Verywell Health, 31 Oct. 2024

By consistently measuring the solar wind’s temperature and speed in this region for the first time, CODEX scientists hope to improve their understanding of what accelerates and heats it up–and what sometimes causes highly energetic bursts of particles to crash into Earth in bouts of space weather. —Byhannah Richter, science.org, 31 Oct. 2024

The gilt market remained relatively stable compared to past bouts of turbulence in recent years. —Jenni Reid, CNBC, 30 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

English dialect, a trip going and returning in plowing, from Middle English bought bend

First Known Use

1575, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

bout

noun

ˈbau̇t 

1

: a spell of activity

nonstop bout of reading

2

: an athletic match

wrestling bout

3

: attack entry 2 sense 3

a bout of measles