clout

In modern slang, clout means fame, attention or influence, especially the kind you get on social media. Chasing clout means doing things mainly to get noticed.

What clout means

Merriam-Webster’s slang entry describes clout as attention, fame or popularity, often gained through a controversial post or a viral stunt. Someone with clout has followers, gets invited to things and can make others more visible just by tagging them.

The older meaning, influence or power, never went away. A senator has political clout; an influencer has clout. The difference is mostly about where the power comes from.

Clout chasing

A clout chaser is someone who does whatever gets attention: picking fights with bigger accounts, filming strangers for content, staging pranks, attaching themselves to famous people. Both Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com note that clout chasing is usually looked down on as fake and performative. Calling someone a clout chaser is an insult.

Examples

• “He only started the beef for clout.”
• “She’s not a clout chaser, she actually cares about the cause.”
• “Posting your friend’s breakup for views is peak clout chasing.”

Where it came from

Clout is an old English word, from Old English clūt, and once meant a patch of cloth or a heavy blow. Its sense of power or influence is American slang from the mid-20th century; Etymonline records it by 1946, and Chicago newspaper columnist Mike Royko popularized it in the 1960s for the city’s most powerful political figures.

Rappers made the word trendy again in the 2010s, and social media gave it a new meaning, where clout is measured in likes and followers. In August 2017, YouTuber FaZe Banks started the #CloutGang hashtag.

Related terms

• Rage bait: posts made to provoke anger for engagement.
• Main character: acting like the star of your own story.
• Flex: to show off.
• Parasocial relationship: a one-sided bond with a famous person.

See more terms like this in our Gen Z slang guide.