spell

[ spel ]

/ spɛl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR spell ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), spelled or spelt, spell·ing.

to name, write, or otherwise give the letters, in order, of (a word, syllable, etc.): Did I spell your name right?

(of letters) to form (a word, syllable, etc.): The letters spelled a rather rude word.

to read letter by letter or with difficulty (often followed by out): She painfully spelled out the message.

to discern or find, as if by reading or study (often followed by out).

to signify; amount to: This delay spells disaster for us.

verb (used without object), spelled or spelt, spell·ing.

to name, write, or give the letters of words, syllables, etc.: He spells poorly.

to express words by letters, especially correctly.

Verb Phrases

spell down, to outspell others in a spelling match.

spell out,

to explain something explicitly, so that the meaning is unmistakable: Must I spell it out for you?
to write out in full or enumerate the letters of which a word is composed: The title “Ph.D.” is seldom spelled out.

Nearby words

speke, spelaean, speleology, speleotherapy, spelk, spell, spell checker, spell out, spell-check, spellbind, spellbinder

Origin of spell

1250–1300; Middle English spellen < Old French espeller < Germanic; compare Old English spellian to talk, announce (derivative of spell spell²), Old High German -spellōn, Old Norse spjalla, Gothic spillōn

SYNONYMS FOR spell

5 foretell, portend, mean, promise.

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Related forms

spell·a·ble, adjectiveun·spell·a·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for spell out (1 of 4)

spell out

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

British Dictionary definitions for spell out (2 of 4)

spell

/ (spɛl) /

verb spells, spelling, spelt or spelled

to write or name in correct order the letters that comprise the conventionally accepted form of (a word or part of a word)

(tr) (of letters) to go to make up the conventionally established form of (a word) when arranged correctlyd-o-g spells dog

(tr) to indicate or signifysuch actions spell disaster for our cause

Derived Forms

spellable, adjective

Word Origin for spell

C13: from Old French espeller, of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse spialla to talk, Middle High German spellen

British Dictionary definitions for spell out (3 of 4)

spell

/ (spɛl) /

noun

a verbal formula considered as having magical force

any influence that can control the mind or character; fascination

a state induced by or as if by the pronouncing of a spell; tranceto break the spell

under a spell held in or as if in a spell

verb

(tr) rare to place under a spell

Word Origin for spell

Old English spell speech; related to Old Norse spjall tale, Gothic spill, Old High German spel

British Dictionary definitions for spell out (4 of 4)

spell

/ (spɛl) /

noun

an indeterminate, usually short, period of timea spell of cold weather

a period or tour of duty after which one person or group relieves another

Scot, Australian and NZ a period or interval of rest

verb

(tr) to take over from (a person) for an interval of time; relieve temporarily

spell a paddock NZ to give a field a rest period by letting it lie fallow

Word Origin for spell

Old English spelian to take the place of, of obscure origin

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

Idioms and Phrases with spell out (1 of 2)

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.”

Idioms and Phrases with spell out (2 of 2)

spell

In addition to the idiom beginning with spell

spell out

also see:

cold snap (spell)
under someone's spell