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

Muna performed on the same stage earlier that day and gave Morissette a shout-out during their set, and sure enough, Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin, and Naomi McPherson came out on cue. —Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 22 July 2024

The first reader who names the spot gets a shout-out in the newsletter. —Jeremy Duda, Axios, 19 July 2024

Trump, though, didn’t seem to be at all ruffled by his youngest son’s absence and gave him a shout-out during his speech, the New York Times and other outlets reported. —Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 19 July 2024

Announced this morning from the El Capitan theatre in Hollywood, the nominations also included shout-outs for Netflix’s addictive but controversial limited series Baby Reindeer, along with well-deserved noms for the fourth season of True Detective featuring Jodie Foster. —Deadline, 17 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1990, in the meaning defined above

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