shout-out

noun

ˈshau̇t-ˌau̇t 

variants or less commonly shoutout

plural shout-outs also shoutouts

informal

: a public expression of greeting, praise, or acknowledgement directed toward a person or group often as part of a performance, recording, or broadcast

She opened her acceptance speech with a shout-out to James Baldwin, the author of the book on which the movie was based, calling him "one of the greatest artists of our time."

—Neal Justin

Here are a few lyrical shout-outs to some of hip hop's favorite designers.

—Scott Poulson-Bryant

She even gave a shoutout to one of her former teachers on Twitter, and encouraged others to do the same.

—Emily Sweeney

Examples of shout-out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Toward the end of her speech, the actress gave another sweet shout-out to her kids. —Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2025

Other common methods are email (37%), recognition software (27%), giving shout-outs during meetings (23%), and offering praise via Slack or similar tools (21%) at least several times a week. —Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 2 Sep. 2025

Especially love the rapid-fire rhyming shout-outs to some of the fair's finer delicacies. —Piet Levy, jsonline.com, 2 Sep. 2025

Tyler, the Creator recently gave him a shout-out in an interview. —Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1990, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for shout-out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout

Kids Definition

shout–out

noun

variants also shoutout

ˈshau̇t-ˌau̇t

informal

: a public expression of greeting, praise, or acknowledgment directed toward a person or group often as part of a performance, broadcast, or recording