spell out

verb

1. to make clear, distinct, or explicit; clarify in detail

   let me spell out the implications

2. to read laboriously or with difficulty, working out each word letter by letter

3. to discern by study; puzzle out

Idioms and Phrases

Make plain, clarify, as in We asked her to spell out her objectives . [c. 1940]

Read slowly and laboriously, as in He was only six but he managed to spell out the instructions . [Early 1800s]

Puzzle out, manage to understand with some effort, as in It took years before anyone could spell out the inscriptions on the Rosetta Stone . [Late 1600s] All three usages transfer spell in the sense of “proceed letter by letter.”

Related Words

• define 
• describe 
• expound 
• illustrate 
• justify 
• point out