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

While attending the 67th annual Grammy Awards in February, Shakira gave a heartfelt shout-out to her fellow immigrants while accepting the award for best Latin pop album. —Edward Segarra, USA Today, 17 June 2025

Corey Perry also deserves a shout-out for scoring 10 goals through 21 playoff games at a dirt-cheap $1.15 million rate. —Harman Dayal, New York Times, 15 June 2025

Public recognition, shout-outs from leadership in all-hands meetings or team chats, and even small rewards can help turn occasional participants into passionate advocates. —Bradley Keenan, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025

Another shout-out goes to Daniel Pemberton’s nicely nuanced music score. —Pete Hammond, Deadline, 10 June 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