"spell out" meaning in All languages combined

See spell out on Wiktionary

Verb [English]

Forms: spells out [present, singular, third-person], spelling out [participle, present], spelled out [participle, past], spelled out [past], spelt out [UK, participle, past], spelt out [UK, past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|*|past2=spelt out|past2_qual=mostly UK}} spell out (third-person singular simple present spells out, present participle spelling out, simple past and past participle spelled out or (mostly UK) spelt out)
  1. (transitive) To form (a word) from letters; say the letters in a word. Tags: transitive
    Sense id: en-spell_out-en-verb-RGJS7MrP
  2. (transitive, when writing or editing) To replace an acronym with its expansion. Tags: transitive
    Sense id: en-spell_out-en-verb-uYYaBRZo Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English links with manual fragments, English phrasal verbs with particle (out) Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 23 46 31 Disambiguation of English links with manual fragments: 22 59 19 Disambiguation of English phrasal verbs with particle (out): 24 55 21
  3. (transitive) To explain in clear and simple terms; to be explicit. Tags: transitive
    Sense id: en-spell_out-en-verb-aqnoO73t
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: spell it out, spellout [noun], spell things out Related terms: in words of one syllable, spoon-feed

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for spell out meaning in All languages combined (3.9kB)

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "100 0 0",
      "word": "spell it out"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "100 0 0",
      "tags": [
        "noun"
      ],
      "word": "spellout"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "100 0 0",
      "word": "spell things out"
    }
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "spells out",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "spelling out",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "spelled out",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "spelled out",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "spelt out",
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "spelt out",
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "past2": "spelt out",
        "past2_qual": "mostly UK"
      },
      "expansion": "spell out (third-person singular simple present spells out, present participle spelling out, simple past and past participle spelled out or (mostly UK) spelt out)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "100 0 0",
      "word": "in words of one syllable"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "100 0 0",
      "word": "spoon-feed"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He used Scrabble tiles to spell out “I LOVE YOU”.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To form (a word) from letters; say the letters in a word."
      ],
      "id": "en-spell_out-en-verb-RGJS7MrP",
      "links": [
        [
          "letter",
          "letter"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To form (a word) from letters; say the letters in a word."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "23 46 31",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "22 59 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with manual fragments",
          "parents": [
            "Links with manual fragments",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "24 55 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs with particle (out)",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "To avoid crypticness for nonexpert readers, she spelled out the phrase, so that \"tips about PrEP in the context of OHS for HCPs\" became \"tips about preexposure prophylaxis in the context of occupational health and safety for health care professionals\".",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To replace an acronym with its expansion."
      ],
      "id": "en-spell_out-en-verb-uYYaBRZo",
      "links": [
        [
          "acronym",
          "acronym"
        ],
        [
          "expansion",
          "expansion#English:_acronymic"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "when writing or editing",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, when writing or editing) To replace an acronym with its expansion."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Here is a brochure that spells out the benefits.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2019 May 5, Danette Chavez, “Campaigns are Waged On and Off the Game Of Thrones Battlefield (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2021-01-28",
          "text": "Dany has never had a full vision for what happens once she obtains the Iron Throne, but that’s what her advisors, including Tyrion and Varys, are for. And the show has never exactly spelled out Jon’s platform beyond “stay alive,” so he’d also require a small council.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 October 1, David E. Sanger, Anton Troianovski, Julian E. Barnes, “In Washington, Putin’s Nuclear Threats Stir Growing Alarm”, in The New York Times, →ISSN",
          "text": "Last weekend, President Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, responded that any nuclear weapon use would result in “catastrophic consequences” for Russia, adding that in private communications with Moscow, the United States had “spelled out” how America and the world would react.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To explain in clear and simple terms; to be explicit."
      ],
      "id": "en-spell_out-en-verb-aqnoO73t",
      "links": [
        [
          "explain",
          "explain"
        ],
        [
          "explicit",
          "explicit"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To explain in clear and simple terms; to be explicit."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "spell out"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English links with manual fragments",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English phrasal verbs",
    "English phrasal verbs with particle (out)",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "spell it out"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "noun"
      ],
      "word": "spellout"
    },
    {
      "word": "spell things out"
    }
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "spells out",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "spelling out",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "spelled out",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "spelled out",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "spelt out",
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "spelt out",
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "past2": "spelt out",
        "past2_qual": "mostly UK"
      },
      "expansion": "spell out (third-person singular simple present spells out, present participle spelling out, simple past and past participle spelled out or (mostly UK) spelt out)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "in words of one syllable"
    },
    {
      "word": "spoon-feed"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He used Scrabble tiles to spell out “I LOVE YOU”.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To form (a word) from letters; say the letters in a word."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "letter",
          "letter"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To form (a word) from letters; say the letters in a word."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "To avoid crypticness for nonexpert readers, she spelled out the phrase, so that \"tips about PrEP in the context of OHS for HCPs\" became \"tips about preexposure prophylaxis in the context of occupational health and safety for health care professionals\".",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To replace an acronym with its expansion."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "acronym",
          "acronym"
        ],
        [
          "expansion",
          "expansion#English:_acronymic"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "when writing or editing",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, when writing or editing) To replace an acronym with its expansion."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Here is a brochure that spells out the benefits.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2019 May 5, Danette Chavez, “Campaigns are Waged On and Off the Game Of Thrones Battlefield (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2021-01-28",
          "text": "Dany has never had a full vision for what happens once she obtains the Iron Throne, but that’s what her advisors, including Tyrion and Varys, are for. And the show has never exactly spelled out Jon’s platform beyond “stay alive,” so he’d also require a small council.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 October 1, David E. Sanger, Anton Troianovski, Julian E. Barnes, “In Washington, Putin’s Nuclear Threats Stir Growing Alarm”, in The New York Times, →ISSN",
          "text": "Last weekend, President Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, responded that any nuclear weapon use would result in “catastrophic consequences” for Russia, adding that in private communications with Moscow, the United States had “spelled out” how America and the world would react.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To explain in clear and simple terms; to be explicit."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "explain",
          "explain"
        ],
        [
          "explicit",
          "explicit"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To explain in clear and simple terms; to be explicit."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "spell out"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.