Advertisement
Advertisement
spell out
verb
to make clear, distinct, or explicit; clarify in detail
let me spell out the implications
to read laboriously or with difficulty, working out each word letter by letter
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.”
Example Sentences
Constitution, which spells out the limits of federal power.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the policy could cost between £50bn and £80bn a year – and that Reform had not spelled out how they would raise the cash.
Even his shaved head is covered in the Gothic black letters long popular in Chicano culture that spell out: Family, Loyalty, L.A.
Treasury sources argue, with obvious logic, that it's helpful to spell out long-term financial plans so departments and the public know what's coming.
But he did not spell out the details of how many pensioners would be entitled to claim the payments, or when the change would take effect.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse