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to give a shout

to give a shout

1 5.1
Call or message someone to let them know something
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : avisar
  • If so, feel free to give a shout out!
  • just give a shout

Examples

  • Whenever you're in town, give a shout so we can catch up.

  • If you need anything, just give a shout.

  • This is a great time to give a shout out to my therapist.

  • I just want to take a moment to give a shout out of thanks to my therapist.

  • You know, I think we should give a shout out to the book that you and I reconnected over.

  • And, you know, I think it's time to give a shout out to our top tiers.

  • I just want to give a shout out to all the fans of my Shakira impression.

  • I'd like to give a shout out to Taylor Pringle!

  • This is a Sunday morning vlog, so first of all I need to give a shout out to Juan and JMAA Music.

  • So, I'd like to give a shout out to some of the companies I've worked with for most of my twenty years that are still vibrant and thriving.

    Blog text (18)

Synonyms

to reach out
vsto give a shout
338 2.7

To contact someone to offer help or support

is mainly a casual notice rather than an offer of help
to make contact
vsto give a shout
113 2.8

To get in touch with someone after a time without talking

is an informal quick notice rather than formal first-time communication
to make a call
vsto give a shout
93 1.0

To phone someone

is more informal and can be done by message or voice
to give a ring
vsto give a shout
1 2.2

To phone someone

is used to informally let someone know by any method

How Direct

to speak to
1.7
to give a shout
  • Informal
1 5.1
to send a message
  • Informal
81 3.4

Surface Forms

give a shout infinitive
given a shout past participle
giving a shout present participle
gives a shout third person singular

Morphology

give + a + shout

The compound sense is partially inferable because 'give' + 'shout' can be understood as 'produce a call' and 'shout' denotes a vocal call, so a learner can plausibly map this to contacting or calling someone. However, the informal extension from literally shouting to the pragmatic meaning 'contact / let someone know' is metaphorical and usage-dependent, so a B1 learner may not reliably predict it without exposure.

Etymology

The phrase give a shout may come from the simple image of calling out loud to get someone's attention. When you literally give a shout, you make a noise so someone hears you, so that's why it now means 'to contact or let someone know'.