shout-out

noun

ˈshau̇t-ˌau̇t 

variants or less commonly shoutout

plural shout-outs also shoutouts

informal

: a public expression of greeting, praise, or acknowledgement directed toward a person or group often as part of a performance, recording, or broadcast

She opened her acceptance speech with a shout-out to James Baldwin, the author of the book on which the movie was based, calling him "one of the greatest artists of our time."

—Neal Justin

Here are a few lyrical shout-outs to some of hip hop's favorite designers.

—Scott Poulson-Bryant

She even gave a shoutout to one of her former teachers on Twitter, and encouraged others to do the same.

—Emily Sweeney

Examples of shout-out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The actor thanked the actors who played his family members in the film and gave a shout-out to the host city’s beleaguered filmmaking community. —Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Mar. 2025

Gabe also enjoys giving his dad shout-outs whenever an opportunity comes up, including on birthdays and holidays — sometimes with a quip thrown in. —Emy Lacroix, People.com, 14 Mar. 2025

For example, sharing praise during your one-on-one, giving a shout-out in a team meeting or celebrating someone publicly on an internal communication platform are easy ways to make recognition matter. —David Bator, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025

One of the fellow Bob Does Sports guys, Joey Cold Cuts, was watching and gave Perez a shout-out on X, formerly Twitter. —Raja Krishnamoorthi, Newsweek, 13 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1990, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for shout-out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout

Kids Definition

shout–out

noun

variants also shoutout

ˈshau̇t-ˌau̇t

informal

: a public expression of greeting, praise, or acknowledgment directed toward a person or group often as part of a performance, broadcast, or recording