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verb (used with object)
1.
2.
(of letters) to form (a word, syllable, etc.): The letters spelled a rather rude word.
3.
to read letter by letter or with difficulty (often followed by out): She painfully spelled out the message.
4.
to discern or find, as if by reading or study (often followed by out).
5.
to signify; amount to: This delay spells disaster for us.
verb (used without object)
6.
to name, write, or give the letters of words, syllables, etc.: He spells poorly.
7.
to express words by letters, especially correctly.
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Spell out
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
8.
spell down, to outspell others in a spelling match.
9.
spell out,
a.
to explain something explicitly, so that the meaning is unmistakable: Must I spell it out for you?
b.
to write out in full or enumerate the letters of which a word is composed: The title “Ph.D.” is seldom spelled out.
Origin:
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
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
Related forms
spell·a·ble, adjective
un·spell·a·ble, adjective
Synonyms
5. foretell, portend, mean, promise.
5. foretell, portend, mean, promise.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To spell out
Collins
World English Dictionary
| spell out | |
| —vb | |
| 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 |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
spell
"work in place of (another)," O.E. spelian "to take the place of," related to gespelia "substitute," of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to spilian "to play" (see spiel). The noun meaning "indefinite period of time" first recorded 1706.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
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® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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