spell out

See also: spellout

English

Verb

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.

   He used Scrabble tiles to spell out “I LOVE YOU”.

2. (transitive, when writing or editing) To replace an acronym with its expansion.

   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".

3. (transitive) To explain in clear and simple terms; to be explicit.

   Here is a brochure that spells out the benefits.

   • 2019 May 5, Danette Chavez, “Campaigns are Waged On and Off the Game Of Thrones Battlefield (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club‎^[1], archived from the original on 28 January 2021:

     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.

   • 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^[2], →ISSN:

     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.

Derived terms

• spell it out
• spellout (noun)
• spell things out

 

See also

• in words of one syllable
• spoon-feed

 

Anagrams

• outspell, pollutes