shout-out

noun

ˈshau̇t-ˌau̇t 

variants or less commonly shoutout

plural shout-outs also shoutouts

informal

: a public expression of greeting, praise, or acknowledgment 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

So here’s our shout-out to artists Viktor Timofeev, Stephen Kwok, Megumi Shauna Arai, James Cherry, and curator Elizaveta Shneyderman. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 16 Sep. 2026

Candidates’ disparate visions Taking the California Democratic Party convention stage in February, Barrera, president of the San Diego Unified Board of Education, gave a quick shout-out to the California Teachers Assn. — Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026

While accepting the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series at the 2025 Emmys, Noah gave a sweet shout-out to his partner. — Emily Kelleher, InStyle, 14 Sep. 2026

One shout-out has to go to Ben, my therapist at the Edge Spa, a standalone building with five treatment rooms beyond the pool. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

originally African American English, noun derivative of shout out "to give recognition to, publicly acknowledge"

Note: The popularization of shout-out has been attributed to the Black DJ and music video producer Ralph McDaniels, who co-hosted the program Video Music Box on the New York City public television station WNYC from 1984 to 1996.

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