Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

single out

/ˌsɪŋ.ɡəl ˈaʊ̯t/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.37 in modern English

Syllables: sin-gle out
IPA: /ˌsɪŋ.ɡəl ˈaʊ̯t/

10

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To select (someone or something) from a group and highlight them or treat them differently.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"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."
"For quotations using this term, see Citations:single out."

Etymology

From single (“to take alone, or one by one”, intransitive archaic verb) + out. First attested in 1629.

Origin

First known use: First attested in 1629

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌsɪŋ.ɡəl ˈaʊ̯t/
British English: /ˌsɪŋ.ɡəl ˈaʊ̯t/

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

singles out (present, singular) singling out (participle, present) singled out (participle, past) singled out (past)

Phrases

in the crosshairs in the limelight in the spotlight peel off pick off

Frequently Paired Words

in the crosshairs in the limelight in the spotlight peel off pick off separate

Synonyms

mark out pick out discriminate separate

Questions

How do you pronounce single out?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌsɪŋ.ɡəl ˈaʊ̯t/.
What does single out mean?: To select (someone or something) from a group and highlight them or treat them differently.
Where does single out come from?: First known use: First attested in 1629.

How to pronounce single out

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “single out”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌsɪŋ.ɡəl ˈaʊ̯t/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “single out”.
Repeat and practice — Say “single out” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.