single out
verbCA, US, UK /ˌsɪŋ.ɡəl ˈaʊ̯t/ · AU /ˌsɪŋ.ɡəl ˈæɔ̯t/
Etymology From single (“to take alone, or one by one”, intransitive archaic verb) + out. First attested in 1629.
1
Idiomatic To select (someone or something) from a group and highlight them or treat them differently.
- 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.
1 more example
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:single out.
- Related terms
- in the crosshairs, in the limelight, in the spotlight, peel off, pick off, separate