Definition of "clout" []

• A blow, especially with the fist. (noun)
• Baseball A long powerful hit. (noun)
• Sports An archery target. (noun)
• Informal Influence; pull: "Women in dual-earner households are gaining in job status and earnings ... giving them more clout at work and at home” ( Sue Shellenbarger). (noun)
• Informal Power; muscle. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "You speculated how the word clout came to mean “to steal.”"
• "Groups with a lot of members gain clout, but those groups also gain strife."
• "Bloomberg News CALCULATED RISK: Garanti Bankasi will provide a gateway for BBVA to gain clout in Turkey."