clout

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A blow, especially with the fist.
2. n. Baseball A long powerful hit.
3. n. Sports An archery target.
4. n. 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).
5. n. Informal Power; muscle.
6. n. Chiefly Midland U.S. A piece of cloth, especially a baby's diaper.
7. v. To hit, especially with the fist.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A patch; a piece of cloth, leather, etc., used to mend something.
2. n. Any piece of cloth, especially a worthless piece, or one designed for a mean use; a rag.
3. n. Any small piece; a fragment; a tatter; a bit.
4. n. In archery: The mark fixed in the center of the butts at which archers are shooting.
5. n. A small white target placed near the ground.
6. n. An arrow that has hit the target.
7. n. An iron plate fastened upon an axletree to keep it from wearing.
8. To patch; mend by sewing on a clout or patch; cobble; hence, to join clumsily.
9. To cover with a piece of cloth or with rags; bandage.
10. To rub with an old piece of cloth, felt, or the like.
11. n. A blow with the hand; a cuff.
12. To strike with the hand; cuff.
13. n. Same as clout-nail.
14. To stud or fasten with nails.

Wiktionary

1. n. Influence or effectiveness, especially political.
2. n. regional, informal A blow with the hand.
3. n. informal A home run.
4. n. archery The center of the butt at which archers shoot; probably once a piece of white cloth or a nail head.
5. n. regional, dated A swaddling cloth.
6. n. archaic A cloth; a piece of cloth or leather; a patch; a rag.
7. n. archaic An iron plate on an axletree or other wood to keep it from wearing; a washer.
8. n. obsolete A piece; a fragment.
9. v. To hit, especially with the fist.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A cloth; a piece of cloth or leather; a patch; a rag.
2. n. A swadding cloth.
3. n. obsolete A piece; a fragment.
4. n. The center of the butt at which archers shoot; -- probably once a piece of white cloth or a nail head.
5. n. An iron plate on an axletree or other wood to keep it from wearing; a washer.
6. n. Low A blow with the hand.
7. v. To cover with cloth, leather, or other material; to bandage; patch, or mend, with a clout.
8. v. To join or patch clumsily.
9. v. To quard with an iron plate, as an axletree.
10. v. Low To give a blow to; to strike.
11. v. To stud with nails, as a timber, or a boot sole.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. special advantage or influence
2. n. (boxing) a blow with the fist
3. n. a target used in archery
4. n. a short nail with a flat head; used to attach sheet metal to wood
5. v. strike hard, especially with the fist