n.
- a projecting tube or lip through or over which liquid can be poured from a container.
- a stream of liquid issuing with great force.
- a pipe, trough, or chute for conveying liquid, grain, etc.
▸historical a lift in a pawnshop used to convey pawned items up for storage.
v.
- send out or issue forcibly in a stream.
- express (one's views) in a lengthy or declamatory way.
Phrase
- up the spout
Brit. informal - useless, ruined, or wasted.
- (of a woman) pregnant.
- (of a bullet or cartridge) in the barrel of a gun and ready to be fired.
Derivative
- spouted adj.
- spouter n.
- spoutless adj.
Etymology
ME: from MDu. spouten, from an imitative base shared by ON spýta ‘to spit’.