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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Jared Haibon celebrates Ashley Iaconetti's 35th birthday In honor of her birthday, Haibon gave Iaconetti a shout-out on Instagram. Stephanie Kaloi, Peoplemag, 10 Mar. 2023 Even my Beyoncé runway was made by LaShauwn Beyond so shout-out to her. Jillian Sederholm, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2023 Aquarius is also the sign of teams, giving us famous team players like Harry Styles (shout-out to One Direction) and Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time. Madison Feller, ELLE, 28 Feb. 2023 While giving her acceptance speech for her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, the Friends actress, 58, gave daughter Coco Arquette, 18, a sweet shout-out. Topher Gauk-roger, Peoplemag, 28 Feb. 2023 The award winning-actress continued her speech by giving a shout-out to her Everything Everywhere All at Once co-star Michelle Yeoh and led the crowd in chanting her name. Katherine Schaffstall, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Feb. 2023 Special shout-out to Smartwater for sponsoring this beautiful, ultra-hydrating commodification of love! Ivan Ehlers, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2023 Most obvious is the big shout-out to Drive-By Truckers, who took Wednesday out on tour with them recently. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2023 Joe Jonas gave Sophie Turner a romantic shout-out on social media for her 27th birthday on Tuesday (Feb. 21). Glenn Rowley, Billboard, 22 Feb. 2023 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shout-out.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

First Known Use

1990, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shout-out was in 1990

Dictionary Entries Near shout-out

Cite this Entry

“Shout-out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shout-out. Accessed 20 Mar. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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