What does clouting mean?
Clouting is the present participle and verbal noun form of "clout," a word whose meaning has shifted remarkably over the centuries. In its most familiar modern sense, clouting simply means hitting or striking something — usually a person, and usually with the hand rather than a weapon — making it a vivid but informal way to describe a blow, especially in British English. Yet the word's older life belongs to the sewing basket: from Middle English, a "clout" was a piece of cloth, and clouting came to mean mending garments by patching them with such scraps. In the textile trade, "clouting" also names a coarse white cotton fabric used for linings and padding, a usage that survives mainly in specialist contexts. This dual heritage makes clouting an unusual word that bridges both violence and domestic repair.
Hitting or striking someone, especially with the hand.
"The referee watched as players were clouting each other in the scrum."
Informal register; more common in British than American English.
Patching or mending clothing with pieces of cloth.
"She sat by the fire, clouting worn elbows with scraps of wool."
Largely historical or rural usage today.
A coarse white cotton cloth used for interlinings, padding, or patchwork.
"The tailor stocked several bolts of clouting for stiffening jacket fronts."
Specialist textile term.
Rarely pluralized except in trade contexts referring to quantities or types of the cloth.
"The merchant ordered three cloutings of different weights for the winter stock."
Before it meant throwing a punch, "clout" literally meant a scrap of cloth — so "giving someone a clout" once evoked patching a hole, not landing a blow.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of clouting
Clouting derives from the Old English "clut," meaning a lump or piece of cloth, which gives us both the patching sense and, through metaphorical extension, the blow sense — a "clout" on the ear being figuratively a rag slapped across it. The word passed through Middle English, where "clout" firmly meant a strip of cloth or a patched garment, before the hitting sense became dominant in early modern English. It shares its Germanic root with related cloth words such as "cloth" itself, and with Dutch "kloot." The participle form "clouting" thus carries both strands: textile repair and physical strike.
Related word forms
How clouting is actually used
As a verb form, "clouting" is informal in the hitting sense, common in British English. The textile sense is now largely historical or specialist.
Easily confused with clouting
"Clogging" means blocking or filling up, whereas "clouting" means hitting or patching with cloth.