spell out

verb

spelled out; spelling out; spells out

transitive verb

1

: to make plain

spelled out the orders in detail

2

: to write or print in letters and in full

numbers are to be spelled out

Synonyms of spell out

• explain
• illustrate
• clarify
• demonstrate

Examples of spell out in a Sentence

the dating applicant spelled out exactly what she wanted in a man

Recent Examples on the Web

At the building’s peak, five-foot-tall concrete letters spell out a hundred and three words of a speech delivered by Obama in Selma, Alabama, in 2015, on the fiftieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when John Lewis and other civil-rights activists were beaten at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge. —Peter Slevin, New Yorker, 4 May 2026

The sign spelled out the name Billy Boman. —Matti Yahav, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026

Sim released a statement of his own Tuesday that spelled out the club’s history in Vancouver dating back to 1974 and its sporting success over the last few seasons in MLS. —Paul Tenorio, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026

The consent decree spells out the back pay 26 workers will get for work they should have been paid between 2019 and 2023. —Esme Murphy, CBS News, 28 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for spell out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout

Kids Definition

spell out

verb

1

: to make very plain

our duties were spelled out

2

: to write or print in letters and in full