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scout

scout

152 3.2
A person who looks for talented people to join a team or show
  • noun
  • /skaʊt/
translation icon : cazatalentos
  • At the game, a scout was looking for new players to recruit for the team.
  • a talent scout
  • professional scouts
  • an industry scout

I think he's kind of like a scout in an army.

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Examples

  • A line of NFL scouts watches a dazzling pass from a future star.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • You wanna talk about talent scout?

  • I was one of your scouts when you first took over.

  • I just hope that talent scout fella's in a good mood.

  • I'm a scout for the Gophers.

  • Bryce's extraordinary ability has caught the attention of Major League scouts, the media, and sports fans around the country.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Ryan: I heard a scout from the Pittsburgh Pirates was interested in Derek.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • You're talking about one of the best scouts baseball's ever seen.

  • The talent scout noticed her impressive skills during the audition.

  • As a scout, he traveled to different cities to find promising actors for the film.

Synonyms

lookout
vsscout
88 3.7

A person who watches and warns others about danger

can also mean searching for people or useful information, not only danger
recruiter
vsscout
49 2.9

A person who finds and hires people for a company or group

often also involves watching or gathering information beyond formal hiring
sentinel
vsscout
31 7.4

A person who watches a place to warn others of danger

is less stationary and more about finding people or information
sentry
vsscout
26 6.0

A soldier who stands watch to guard a place

is more active in searching widely or recruiting rather than guarding only
spotter
vsscout
21 4.4

A person who watches closely and reports storms, dangers, or animal sightings

is wider, including longer searches and also recruiting duties
talent scout
vsscout
8 3.7

A person who finds and hires good players and actors for sports and shows

is broader and also watches for information beyond hiring people
picket
vsscout
  • Jargon
5 6.1

A person who stands outside a camp to watch for enemy movement

is broader and includes targeted talent finding or information gathering tasks
scouter
vsscout
6.4

A person who explores an area to find information, often for military or safety reasons

also covers recruiting people and talent spotting in other settings

Compounds

30 1.8

A girl who belongs to a group that teaches skills and helps other people

15 2.8

A boy who belongs to a youth group that teaches outdoor skills and helps the community

14 2.7

A boy aged seven to ten who is in the junior group of the Boy Scouts

12 3.4

A Boy Scout who reached the highest rank by earning many badges and showing leadership and service

8 3.7

A person who finds and hires good players and actors for sports and shows

8 2.5

A group of young people who meet to learn outdoor skills and help others

2 2.2

A young person in a group who learns camping, first aid and how to help others

boy scout
  • Informal
1 7.6

A person who is too innocent about how the world works and trusts others easily

1 1.8

A local group of young people who learn camping and teamwork

1 4.6

A member of a scout group who learns to sail and do other boating activities

scout car
  • Specialized
6.8

A fast, lightly armored four-wheel-drive military vehicle with an open top used to find where the enemy is

How Professional

headhunter
11 6.1
agent
  • Formal
2.8
recruiter
49 2.9
scout
152 3.2
enthusiast
81 3.4

Surface Forms

scout singular
scouts plural

Etymology

Scout comes from an old French word escouter meaning 'to listen' or 'watch', so originally a scout was someone who listened and watched for news or people worth noticing, which is why a talent scout searches carefully for new players or performers.