/ klaʊt; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ U ] power and influence :
political / financial clout
I knew his opinion carried a lot of clout with them.
2.
[ C , usually sing. ] ( informal ) a blow with the hand or a hard object
■ verb
[ vn ] ( informal ) to hit sb hard, especially with your hand
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old 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 ).