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

Dunst also gave a shout-out to her husband Jesse Plemons, the photographer responsible for capturing this adorable photo. —Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2024

Aside from her husband, Christopher Nolan, their children and her mother-in-law, Oscar-winning producer Emma Thomas gave a shout-out to only one other person by name when accepting the Academy Award for best picture for Oppenheimer. —Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Apr. 2024

Maren Morris, who gave Martell a shout-out at the CMAs in 2020, donated $5,000, and CMT gave $10,000. —David Browne, Rolling Stone, 28 Mar. 2024

There were many more great submissions submitted on TikTok (shout-out to the reveal on Peepzilla), as well as this very sobering entry uploaded to TikTok and YouTube. —Dave Jorgenson, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024

Their feats are not just for the sake of a gasp — shout-out here to the astonishing Keaton Hentoff-Killian — but are metaphorically connected to the story on stage. —Frank Rizzo, Variety, 22 Mar. 2024

And, Dafoe's home state got a quick shout-out of sorts during it. —Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 22 Mar. 2024

James gave a shout-out to his two old friends Sunday after Duquesne defeated Virginia Commonwealth 57-51 in the Atlantic-10 championship game to qualify for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1977. —Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024

In honor of her boyfriend's birthday earlier this month, Gomez gave Blanco a sweet shout-out on Instagram. —Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1990, in the meaning defined above