call out

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"call-out" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“call out” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To specify, especially in detail.

Corpus desk

Index EN-call-out · call out · English

call out · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for call out
PropertyValue
Headwordcall out
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “call out” in English

call outfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

call out is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for call out in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is call out, spelled C-A-L-L- -O-U-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To specify, especially in detail.
  2. 2
    To order into service; to summon into service.
  3. 3
    To yell out; to vocalize audibly; announce.
  4. 4
    To challenge (someone).
  5. 5
    To challenge (someone).
  6. 6
    To challenge (someone).
  7. 7
    To contact one's workplace and announce that one is unable to attend work. Regionalism short for call out sick; much more commonly: call in sick.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how call out appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. They call out 304 stainless steel in the drawing, but the part was made from aluminum.
  2. The Governor called out the National Guard.

This word in other languages

especificar(Español)préciser(Français)angehen(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "call out"?
"call out" is spelled C-A-L-L- -O-U-T.
What does "call out" mean?
As a verb, "call out" means: To specify, especially in detail.
What language does "call out" come from?
"call out" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list