plural knouts
: a flogging whip with a lash of leather thongs twisted with wire used (as in czarist Russia) for punishing criminals
knouted; knouting; knouts
: to strike with a knout : to punish by whipping
Even when he is happy, David Tell looks like a minor figure in one of those Russian novels where someone is found hanged in the orchard around about page 632 and the serfs are knouted every couple of chapters.—
Michael Kelly
Michael KellyCite this Entry
“Knout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knout. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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