noust

N1O1U1S1T1

noun

A trench or other hollow area, sometimes with walls, where a boat can be hauled up and left ashore.

First used 17th c.Scrabble 5
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Meanings

nounnoust (plural nousts)

plural nousts

  1. OrkneyScotlandShetlandA trench or other hollow area, sometimes with walls, where a boat can be hauled up and left ashore.First known use 17th c.

    Willie discovered Samuel trying to drag a strange yawl up the noust.

    1972, George Mackay Brown, Greenvoe, Polygon, published 2019, page 230

Origin

From the (unattested) Norn reflex of Old Norse naust (“boathouse”). Cognate with Faroese neyst, Norwegian naust, Danish nøst (“boat-shed”).

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

snouttonusNotusnutsoTuson
Cite this entry
APA

noust. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/noust

MLA

“noust.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/noust. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “noust,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/noust.

Source: noust on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.