single out
/ˌsɪŋ.ɡəl ˈaʊ̯t/
"single-out" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“single 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
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To select (someone or something) from a group and highlight them or treat them differently.
Corpus desk
Index EN-single-out · single out · English
single out · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | single out |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˌsɪŋ.ɡəl ˈaʊ̯t/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “single out” in English
Rare enough to double-check
single out is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˌsɪŋ.ɡəl ˈaʊ̯t/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To select (someone or something) from a group and highlight them or treat them differently.".
Zero misspellings are on record for single out in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From single (“to take alone, or one by one”, intransitive archaic verb) + out. First attested in 1629. The correct English form is single out, spelled S-I-N-G-L-E- -O-U-T.
Definition
- 1To select (someone or something) from a group and highlight them or treat them differently.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how single out appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Eddie singled out his favorite marble from the bag.
Yvonne always wondered why Ernest had singled her out of the group of giggling girls she hung around with.
Etymology
From single (“to take alone, or one by one”, intransitive archaic verb) + out. First attested in 1629.
This word in other languages
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.