ENGLISH
REFERENCE

bout

n. countable
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈbaʊt// UK //bˈaʊt// bout Archaic Informal

n. a short period of time when you are doing something specific or feeling a certain way. It is often used for things that are not very pleasant, like being sick or having a fight.

n. a short period of intense activity or a specific duration of an illness or emotional state. Often implies a temporary but concentrated experience.


SIMPLE

She is recovering from a short bout of the flu.

CONTEXTUAL

After a long bout of heavy rain, the sun finally came out and dried the fields.

COMPLEX

The athlete's career was unfortunately interrupted by recurring bouts of tendonitis, which prevented him from maintaining a consistent training schedule during the peak of the season.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

From Middle English bout, bowt, bught (whence also modern English bought (“bend, curve”)), probably from Old English buht (“bend, turn”), an unrecorded variant of Old English byht (“a bend, curve”), from Proto-West Germanic buhti, from Proto-Germanic *buhtiz (“a bend”). Equivalent to bow + -t. Doublet of bight and bought. For the sense development compare bender.

Etymology 2

Written form of a reduction of about.

Usage

Commonly followed by the preposition 'of' to specify the activity or condition.

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