bout

The word “bout” means a short period of an activity, especially something difficult like an illness or a fight. In plain terms, a short spell of something intense, like a fight, illness, or bad mood.

“Bout” is pronounced BOWT (/ˈbaʊt/ in IPA).

Here is “bout” used in a sentence: “She was laid up with a bad bout of flu.”

“Bout” is a noun.

The word “bout” comes from Middle English. From Middle English bout/bought, related to "bow" and "bight" — the idea of a "turn" or "bend" in an activity.

“Bout” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the C2 level.

"A bout of" typically introduces something unpleasant and short-lived: a bout of flu, a bout of food poisoning, a bout of insomnia, a bout of depression. The phrase frames the experience as a distinct episode with a beginning and an end.

In boxing they are near-synonyms: bout is the formal term for a single contest between two fighters, while match and fight are the everyday equivalents. Bout is the word used in official rules, records, and ring announcements.

Both name a short period of illness, so they often overlap. Bout emphasizes the struggle and the self-contained duration — you battle through a bout of flu — while episode is the more neutral, clinical term that medicine often uses for recurring conditions.