bout /bʌʊt/noun 7preposition 1verb 1forms 3 noun7 •a short time when someone has an illness or goes through something badI've boxed in exhibition bouts to entertain the crowds. •A boxing match. •An assault (a fencing encounter) at which the score is kept. •A roller derby match. •A fighting competition.Then they had bouts of wrestling and of cudgel play, so that every day they gained in skill and strength. — 1883 •A bulge or widening in a musical instrument, such as either of the two characteristic bulges of a guitar. •(old-fashioned) The going and returning of a plough, or other implement used to mark the ground and create a headland, across a field.It is in this manner that the ploughs are reversed at the termination of each bout of the field. — 1922 preposition1 •(informal) Apheretic form of about.They're talking bout you!Maddy is bout to get beat up! verb1 •To contest a bout. formsbouted · bouting · bouts