clout

noun

/klaʊt/

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[uncountable] power and influence
- political/financial clout
- I knew his opinion carried a lot of clout with them.
Extra Examples
- The companies used their clout to influence policy.
- This movie is an opportunity to increase his clout in Hollywood.
- a politician with enormous clout
- the growing political clout of the army
- The government cannot ignore the growing political clout of the security forces.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- considerable
- enormous
- economic
- …
verb + clout
- carry
- have
- wield
- …
See full entry
[countable, usually singular] (especially British English, informal) a hard hit with the hand or a hard object
- You’re not too big for a clout round the ear!

Word OriginOld English clūt (in the sense ‘a patch or metal plate’); related to Dutch kluit ‘lump, clod’, also to cleat and clot. The shift of sense to ‘heavy blow’, which dates from late Middle English, is difficult to explain; possibly the change occurred first in the verb (from ‘put a patch on’ to ‘hit hard’).

clout

verb

/klaʊt/

(especially British English, informal)

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they clout	/klaʊt/ /klaʊt/
he / she / it clouts	/klaʊts/ /klaʊts/
past simple clouted	/ˈklaʊtɪd/ /ˈklaʊtɪd/
past participle clouted	/ˈklaʊtɪd/ /ˈklaʊtɪd/
-ing form clouting	/ˈklaʊtɪŋ/ /ˈklaʊtɪŋ/

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clout somebody to hit somebody hard, especially with your hand
- He started to clout me round the head, yelling at the top of his voice.
- Something clouted me on the left shoulder.
Word OriginOld English clūt (in the sense ‘a patch or metal plate’); related to Dutch kluit ‘lump, clod’, also to cleat and clot. The shift of sense to ‘heavy blow’, which dates from late Middle English, is difficult to explain; possibly the change occurred first in the verb (from ‘put a patch on’ to ‘hit hard’).