spell out

S s

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [spel out]
- /spɛl aʊt/
- /spel ˈaʊt/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [spel out]
- /spɛl aʊt/

Definitions of spell out words

verb with object spell out to name, write, or otherwise give the letters, in order, of (a word, syllable, etc.): Did I spell your name right? 1
verb with object spell out (of letters) to form (a word, syllable, etc.): The letters spelled a rather rude word. 1
verb with object spell out to read letter by letter or with difficulty (often followed by out): She painfully spelled out the message. 1
verb with object spell out to discern or find, as if by reading or study (often followed by out). 1
verb with object spell out to signify; amount to: This delay spells disaster for us. 1
verb without object spell out to name, write, or give the letters of words, syllables, etc.: He spells poorly. 1

See all 17 definitions of spell out

Information block about the term

Origin of spell out

First appearance:

before 1250

One of the 11% oldest English words

1250-1300; Middle English spellen < Old French espeller < Germanic; compare Old English spellian to talk, announce (derivative of spell spell2), Old High German -spellōn, Old Norse spjalla, Gothic spillōn

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Spell out

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Spell out

spell out popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 99% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

spell out usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for spell out

verb spell out

add up — If facts or events do not add up, they make you confused about a situation because they do not seem to be consistent. If something that someone has said or done adds up, it is reasonable and sensible.
analyze — to separate (a thing, idea, etc.) into its parts so as to find out their nature, proportion, function, interrelationship, etc.
blueprinting — a process of photographic printing, used chiefly in copying architectural and mechanical drawings, which produces a white line on a blue background.
bodied — of or relating to the body; bodily.
boil down — When you boil down a liquid or food, or when it boils down, it is boiled until there is less of it because some of the water in it has changed into steam or vapour.

All 67 Synonyms of spell out