spell out
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verb (tr, adverb)
to make clear, distinct, or explicit; clarify in detaillet me spell out the implications
to read laboriously or with difficulty, working out each word letter by letter
to discern by study; puzzle out
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON “THEIR,” “THERE,” AND “THEY’RE”
Are you aware how often people swap around “their,” “there,” and “they’re”? Prove you have more than a fair grasp over these commonly confused words.
Question 1 of 7
Which one of these commonly confused words can act as an adverb or a pronoun?
Words nearby spell out
spelling, spelling bee, spelling pronunciation, spelling reform, Spellman, spell out, spelt, spelter, spelunk, spelunker, Spemann
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Example sentences from the Web for spell out
Idioms and Phrases with spell out
spell out
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.”
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.