Pop Culture dictionary
clout chaser
[ klout chey-ser ]
What is a clout chaser?
Clout chaser is a critical term for a person who is thought to be intent on attaining fame, especially one who tries to do so in ways considered desperate, such as leveraging their proximity to famous people or doing things considered foolish, degrading, or dangerous.
The term clout chasing is sometimes used to refer to the act of pursuing fame in this way.
The term clout chaser is most often applied to people viewed as attempting to increase their own fame or influence by trying to associate—or engage in conflicts—with those more popular or famous than themselves.
A person may be referred to as a clout chaser because they’re attempting to become what’s known as an influencer. While opinions about influencers can be both positive and negative, the term influencer itself is typically used in a neutral way. In contrast, the term clout chaser is almost always negative and implies criticism of the person it’s applied to.
Example: He’s a clout chaser who’s trying to get famous by harassing celebrities at parties.
Where does clout chaser come from?
The word clout in clout chaser refers to power or influence, especially in the context of fame. The word chaser implies that such a person is “chasing” fame because they don’t have the talent to attain it by themselves (and so instead they engage in desperate attempts to get famous by any means).
The term clout chaser seems to have emerged on social media around 2012. From the beginning, the term was used negatively to refer to people who wanted to be famous or popular.
I cannot take you serious if you a clout chaser!
— . (@1domjulio) June 4, 2012
Examples of clout chaser
Who uses clout chaser?
Clout chaser is typically used as an insult to criticize someone considered to be desperate to attain fame (but without the talent to do so).
S/o all artist growing their audience organically without buying followers or being a clout chaser
— SwuM (@swum) April 16, 2018
A lot of people today are heartless, fake, deceitful, and clout chasers. You really never know who really got love for you these days .. people build you up just to tear you down the moment they see a opportunity.
— 𝒪𝒸𝓉𝑜𝒷𝑒𝓇’𝓈 𝒱𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝒪𝓌𝓃 (@jakharicarroll_) September 26, 2022
it’s funny how the most negative people in real life act like they are super positive and genuine on twitter
stop being a clout chaser just for some RTs everyone knows you’re a loser
— Fioti (@DFioti) March 23, 2019
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of clout chaser like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of clout chaser that will help our users expand their word mastery.