Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use clout in a sentence

29 example sentences · noun, verb

Clout means influence or effectiveness, especially political. Example: “You're gonna clout on his car?”

Examples of clout by meaning

nounInfluence or effectiveness, especially political.

  • The N.A.A.C.P. criticized the census change, fearing that since so few in the black community are of fully African descent, mass attrition to a mixed-race option could threaten political clout and Federal financing.2008 March 23, Peggy Orenstein, “Mixed Messenger”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 06 Nov 2020
  • The chopped mushrooms add depth to both the Waitrose and the Go-Go Vegan recipe, but what gives the latter some real clout on the flavour front is a teaspoon of Marmite.2011 December 15, Felicity Cloake, “How to cook the perfect nut roast”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 26 Nov 2021
  • What Rowan wanted was clout.2019 November 29, Taylor Lorenz, “Here’s What’s Happening in the American Teenage Bedroom”, in The New York Times, archived from the...

nounA blow with the hand.

  • One of her goons gave him a clout on the ear.1985, Brian Daley, Jinx on a Terran Inheritance, page 338

nounA cloth; a piece of cloth or leather; a patch; a rag.

  • The Byzantines, wrote Robert of Clari, hooted and jeered from the battlements, "and let down their clouts and showed them their backsides."1980, Colin Thubron, Seafarers: The Venetians, page 33

verbTo hit (someone or something), especially with the fist.

  • He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard?1997, J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, published 1998, page 57

More sentences with clout

  • You're gonna clout on his car?From the entry clout on
  • You post more Instagram Reels than a Gen Z clout chaser.2025 June 27, Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, “Hard Fork Live, Part 1: Sam Altman and Brad Lightcap of OpenAI”, in The New York Times, →ISSN. From the entry clout chaser
  • Clouting a police sergeant is something I've dreamed about for years.'2013, Maurice Procter, Devil's Due. From the entry snotter
  • All of the clout is upstairs, yoinking around with meetings and that.2012, Chris Bunch, Star Risk, LTD., →ISBN. From the entry yoink
  • You know the saying, "Ne'er cast a clout till May is out"?2002 March 2, Jess Cartner-Morley, “How to Wear Clothes”, in The Guardian. From the entry cast
  • Congressional leaders are frank about using their clout for porkish purposes, and DeLay is no exception.2002, Newsweek, volume 40. From the entry porkish
  • I was itching to go him, And he had clouted Ernie.1964, Robert Close, Love Me Sailor, page 131. From the entry go
  • California farmworkers may struggle with clout in our state Capitol, but they definitely have friends in higher places.2022 September 7, Anita Chabria, “Dark Brandon turns the tables on Newsom; Governor, who has called out moderates, gets schooled by Biden…. From the entry Dark Brandon
  • What seems to have tipped the balance was class, “deediness,” and the clout, not least political, behind the successful.2011, John of Ford, The Life of Wulfric of Haselbury, Anchorite, page 65. From the entry deediness
  • From there they went over the Little River Ranger Station about a mile away to complete a car clout report.2010, Richard E. Brown, Ranger Up!. From the entry car clout
  • The ranger was taking information on the car clout from Pam when I walked into the ranger station.2010, Richard E. Brown, Ranger Up!. From the entry car clout
  • This is suggestive that financial clout is a more determining factor in trade policy outcomes than voting power.2009, Georges De Menil, Richard Portes, Hans-Werner Sinn, Economic Policy 53, page 103. From the entry determining
  • Blagojevich's office kept a clout list of hundreds of state employees recommended by lobbyists, lawmakers and major fund-raisers.2006 May 17, Chris Fusco, Dave McKinney, “Governor's office kept clout list”, in Chicago Sun-Times, retrieved 05 Jun 2009. From the entry clout list
  • To judge from the way women actually voted, they do not compose a voting bloc with especially compassionate clout.1982 December 10, Ann Hulbert, “What Gender Gap?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN. From the entry gender gap
  • "These people do not get paid nearly enough to deal with all that nonsense or for you to use them for money and clout.2022 August 31, Jess Colopy, “Viral TikToker Dances With Disney Characters, Infuriates Former Cast Member”, in Inside the Magic. From the entry that ain't it
  • When he flipped her over, to give her a lovepat or two, how suddenly the spank became a clout, became a wallop.2012, Martin Amis, Lionel Asbo, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 117. From the entry lovepat
  • The political battles raging in states across America are cast as about whether big labor retains its considerable clout. . . .2011 March 6, Albert R. Hunt, “In the U.S., Big Labor Just Isn't That Big”, in New York Times, retrieved 17 Dec 2011. From the entry big labor
  • And the administration's big guns — Bush, Cheney, Powell and once-and-current Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld — had the clout to make bold and necessary changes.2001 June 29, Frank Pellegrini, “Whatever Happened to Military Restructuring?”, in Time. From the entry big gun
  • By the way, joining Ronan in the move from "10 worst" to the clout list is his on-and-off nemesis, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago).1991 July 7, Thomas Hardy, “To make clout list, it's not what you know, but who you know”, in Chicago Tribune, page 4. From the entry clout list
  • But the others, who are in the path of the wind, they are clouted and pushed and beaten, blinded and deafened by the cyclone.1919, Victoria Sackville-West, Heritage, page 161. From the entry clouted
  • Because at the end of the day, even if you’re not getting a dollar amount from making these videos, you're still getting attention and clout on a public platform.2022 August 31, Jess Colopy, “Viral TikToker Dances With Disney Characters, Infuriates Former Cast Member”, in Inside the Magic. From the entry that ain't it
  • He has mastered the art of seeming harmless and without power, but in reality he carries far more authority and clout than one would be led to believe.1976, Richard H. Buskirk, Handbook of Managerial Tactics, Boston: Cahners Books, →ISBN, page 32. From the entry sandbag
  • With a beller of wrath, I jerked my arm away from him and hung a clout on his proboscis that knocked him headfirst through the ropes.1934 August, Robert E. Howard, “Sluggers of the Beach”, in Jack Dempsey’s Fight Magazine. From the entry beller

Meaning of clout

  1. noun Influence or effectiveness, especially political.
  2. noun A blow with the hand.
  3. noun A home run.

Full definition of clout

Questions about clout in a sentence

How do you use clout in a sentence?
Clout is used as a noun and verb. For example: “You're gonna clout on his car?”
What is a short sentence with clout?
“What Rowan wanted was clout.”
What does clout mean?
Clout means influence or effectiveness, especially political.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: clout (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use clout in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/clout. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.