'List Something' or 'List Out Something'? Which One Is Correct? | Mastering Grammar

(Last Updated: 1 October 2024)

List or List Out: Which One Is Correct?

As a verb meaning 'to make a list of people or things', list is transitive and therefore takes a direct object. Do not use it with the preposition out:

✅ Please list all the qualifications that you have completed.
❌ Please list out all the qualifications that you have completed.

✅ The names are listed in alphabetical order.
❌ The names are listed out in alphabetical order.

✅ We want you to list five goals that you would like to achieve this year.
❌ We want you to list out five goals that you would like to achieve this year.

✅ The packaging lists all the ingredients that the sandwich contains.
❌ The packaging lists out all the ingredients that the sandwich contains.

The entry for the verb list (sense 1) in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

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Examples from the Media

Use a service such as JustWatch to find out which streaming service has what you want. Enter the name of the movie or series, or a favourite actor or director, and it will list all the different ways in which you can watch them. —The Guardian (2022)

Eventually, at an open house in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, they met Ali Clarke, a Corcoran agent who did take them seriously. She asked them to list their top five priorities, a common strategy to help buyers focus. —The New York Times (2017)

In her latest column for Psychology Today, Toni Bernhard listed all the things she wouldn't change about her life if she suddenly got better. —Toronto Star (2016)

A Cambridge student website, The Tab, said the man began his verbal attack when Mr Howard told the audience he had been the Australian prime minister for 12 years and listed his achievements while in office. —The Sydney Morning Herald (2009)

Real-World Examples of Misuse

1. The verb list is transitive and therefore takes a direct object; do not use it with the preposition out.
2. The recognised phrasal verb construction is to walk someone through something.
(Also by Spencer Lam: Parts 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12)