out

Less common meanings

16. 16
    adjective

    Away from home or from one's workplace, not available there.

    The doctor is out until two.

    They were out when we called, so we left a note.

    UsageUsed after be: she is out right now. For a longer absence, away is usual.

    Similaraway, absent, unavailable

    Oppositein

17. 17
    not workingadjective

    Of a service, device, or facility: not working or not available; of a person or home: without such a service.

    The elevators are out, so take the stairs.

    Phone lines were out for two days after the storm.

    UsageAfter be: the power is out, the phone lines are out.

    Similardown, broken, dead

    Oppositeworking, up

18. 18
    adjective

    Dismissed from play under the rules of a game, used especially of a batter in baseball or a batsman in cricket.

    With two runners on base and two batters already out, the coach called a timeout.

    The bowler appealed, the umpire raised his finger, and the captain was out.

    UsageUsually after be: the captain was out, out, caught behind.

    Similardismissed

    Oppositesafe

    Note

    The bare verdict of dismissal, usually after be: Johnson is out, caught behind. It reports the result while the details come after. Commentators use it as an exclamation at the moment a wicket falls or a batter is retired.

19. 19
    adverb

    In cricket and baseball, of a player, so as to be dismissed from further play by an action of the opposing team, such as being stumped or struck out.

    The shortstop fielded the grounder and threw the runner out at first.

    Their opener was caught out on the boundary for twelve runs.

    Note

    Cricket and baseball build a whole vocabulary of dismissal from a verb plus out, and the verb tells you how it happened: bowled out and caught out in cricket; struck out, grounded out and thrown out in baseball. A pitcher strikes a batter out, and a batter put out on a grounder grounds out. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • Bowled out is a cricket dismissal term. en.wikipedia.org
    • Caught is a cricket dismissal. en.wikipedia.org
    • Pitchers strike batters out. mlb.com
    • A batter retired on a grounder grounds out. en.wikipedia.org
    • Baseball runners can be thrown out. en.wikipedia.org
20. 20
    baseballnouncountable

    In baseball, the removal of a member of the batting side from play, by a strikeout, a caught fly ball or other means: three outs end a team's half of the inning.

    He struck out for the second out of the inning.

    The pitcher needed one more out to win the game.

    Note

    Baseball's basic unit of failure, and a countable one: a side records outs, and the game is tallied in them. A strikeout and a caught fly ball are two routes to the same result. Informal games count with it too. In work-up, players rotate from position to position by outs until their turn at bat. Cricket uses the same noun for its own dismissals. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Outs are counted to determine when a team's batting turn ends. en.wikipedia.org
    • Strikeouts and caught fly balls can produce outs. mlb.com
    • Work-up is an informal baseball game in which outs trigger rotation through fielding positions toward batting. boyscouttrail.com
    • The noun 'out' also denotes a dismissal in cricket. en.wiktionary.org
21. 21
    openly gayadjective

    Openly acknowledging that one is gay, trans, or otherwise LGBT+, not hiding it.

    He's been out since college, but he only recently told his coworkers.

    He was out to his friends long before he told his family.

    UsageOften out to someone: out to his friends. The act of telling is coming out.

    Oppositecloseted

    Note

    To be out is to live openly, and coming out is the act that gets one there. Being out is often partial: someone may be out to friends but not yet to family. A 2018 guide for young transgender men weighs it against living stealth. A 2011 collection of Allan Bérubé's essays describes someone who "was out but wasn't," a reminder that the state has degrees. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The guide referred to is Matthew Waites's Supporting Young Transgender Men: A Guide for Professionals, published in 2018. uk.jkp.com
    • The guide discusses being out alongside living stealth. en.wiktionary.org
22. 22
    verbtransitive

    To reveal that a person is gay, trans, or otherwise LGBTQ+, whether oneself or, without consent, someone else.

    A gossip column outed the actor years before he was ready to talk about it.

    Nobody should out a colleague, whatever the reason.

    UsageCome out is the usual phrase for telling others yourself; out someone usually means to reveal it about them without consent.

    Similarexpose

    Note

    A transitive verb whose weight depends on who does the revealing. Outing oneself is disclosure by choice: "the more I outed myself, the easier it got." Outing someone else takes that choice away, as when newspapers outed trans people by publishing their old names and photos. Compare being out, the state of having disclosed. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The quotation accurately reproduces Susan Blu's account of disclosing her sexuality. advocate.com
    • Newspapers have outed trans people and published their previous names and photographs. committees.parliament.uk
23. 23
    adjective

    No longer kept secret; known to others.

    Now that word of the merger is out, the company's shares have jumped.

    The truth about the missing funds was finally out.

    UsageWith secret, word or truth: the secret is out, word is out.

    Similarpublic, known

    Oppositesecret

    Note

    The phrasing makes the information the actor, as if it had escaped by itself.

24. 24
    not in fashionadjective

    No longer in fashion or popular.

    That band was out by the time I discovered them.

    Wide ties are in one year and out the next.

    Similarunfashionable, dated

    Oppositein, fashionable, trendy

25. 25
    not an optionadjective

    Of an option, no longer acceptable, permitted, or possible.

    Camping is out, my back won't take it.

    With the strike on, the train is out.

    Note

    It can mark a plan dropped after discussion, but more often it rules out a choice because something forbids it. The cause might be a health condition, a rule or a circumstance. The choice need not be judged and rejected. It may simply be no longer allowed.

26. 26
    not litadjective

    Of a lamp, fire, or other light, extinguished and not burning or shining.

    By midnight every window was dark and the street lamps were out.

    The candles were out before the cake was cut.

    UsageAfter be or go: the lights went out. To make it happen, put out a fire.

    Similaroff, extinguished

    Oppositeon, lit, alight

27. 27
    verbtransitive

    To reveal that a person or organization has a particular secret, such as being a secret agent or an undercover detective.

    The leaked memo outed two diplomats as intelligence officers.

    Bloggers threatened to out the bank as the hidden owner of the failing fund.

    UsageOut someone as something: outed two diplomats as spies.

    Similarexpose, unmask, reveal

    Note

    The secret here is a hidden role or connection rather than a private identity: a leak outs diplomats as spies, a news story outs a company's trading partners, a careless remark outs an informant. It shares its form with outing someone as gay, so context must make the secret clear.

28. 28
    escape routenouncountable

    A way of escape from an obligation or a difficulty, such as a loophole or excuse.

    The contract has an out if the funding falls through.

    She took the first out she was offered.

    UsageOften an out: give someone an out, look for an out.

    Similarloophole, escape, excuse, exit

29. 29
    adjective

    Free, no longer in jail, prison, or captivity.

    The lion was out and nobody knew how.

    When he gets out, he wants to start again.

    UsageCommon with get and be: when he gets out, the lion was out.

    Similarfree, loose

30. 30
    away in timeadverbcolloquial

    At a distance in time from some point, often after a stated span and with from.

    Two weeks out from the wedding, the dress still wasn't ready.

    Delivery may shift out by as much as a month.

31. 31
    adjective

    Of the sun, moon, or stars, visible and not hidden by cloud.

    The moon was out and the path was easy to follow.

    Once the sun came out, the frost was gone in minutes.

    UsageFor the change, come out; for the state, be out: the sun came out, the moon is out.

    Similarvisible

    Oppositehidden

    Note

    A sky word, used of the sun, moon and stars when nothing hides them. It runs opposite to the extinguished-lamp meaning: a light that is out has gone dark, but a sun that is out has come into view.

32. 32
    on breakadjective

    Of a school, a legislature, or another body, not in session; closed for a holiday or break.

    Congress is out for the August recess, so the bill will have to wait.

    With Congress out for the August recess, the bill will have to wait until fall.

    UsageSchool is out; for the moment it closes, school gets out.

    Similarclosed

    Note

    Calendars and recesses use this out: school is out, college is out for the summer, Congress is out on vacation. It pairs with get for the moment of closing, as in "when school gets out." The break is always understood as temporary. The institution has not ended, only paused, whether for a snow day, a summer or a legislative recess.

33. 33
    go awayinterjection

    Away with you or begone, used as a command to leave.

    Out! The referee pointed to the tunnel.

    Out, out, all of you, this instant.

    Note

    A whole imperative packed into one word: get out, begone. Its most famous use comes from Shakespeare's Macbeth, written around 1606: "Out, damned spot! Out, I say!" Those lines are addressed to a stain, not a person. Repeated like that, the word sounds frantic. Said to people, it is a curt order to leave at once. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth around 1606; this is a composition date, not a publication date. folgerpedia.folger.edu
    • The quotation occurs in Macbeth, spoken by Lady Macbeth. Editions vary in punctuation and capitalization. gutenberg.org
    • Lady Macbeth addresses a stain rather than a person; the stain is imagined during her sleepwalking. folger.edu
34. 34
    adjective

    Of a ball or other object in play, landing, passing, or lying beyond the edge of the playing area.

    The line judge called the shot out, and the crowd groaned.

    The goal was disallowed because the ball was out before the winger crossed it.

    UsageAfter be or with call: the ball was out, the shot was called out.

    Oppositein

    Note

    Its opposite is in, and the close cases are the ones that land on or near the line. It applies to a shuttlecock as readily as to a ball. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Landings on or near a boundary line can be difficult to judge. badminton.org.au
    • Shuttlecocks are judged in or out, with in the opposite of out. badminton.org.au
35. 35
    adverb

    Of a ball or other object in play, so as to pass or end up beyond the edge of the playing area.

    Her backhand clipped the top of the net and sailed out.

    The goalkeeper punched the ball out over the sideline.

    Oppositein

    Note

    The adverb of movement in ball games: it follows a verb that says how the ball left the court or field, so a shot bounces out, sails out, is punched out or hit out. Where the ball ends up and whether an official agrees is the job of the line-call adjective, as in the ball was out.

36. 36
    adjective

    Of flowers, open and in bloom.

    By mid-April the cherry blossoms are out and the park fills with visitors.

    The lilacs were already out when we arrived at the cottage.

    UsageAfter a verb: the roses are out, the lilacs were already out.

    Similaropen, blooming

    Note

    Gardeners say the roses or the lilacs are out the way others say the sun is out: the flowers have come into view and can now be seen, which ties this sense to the sun being out.

37. 37
    adjective

    Of the tide, at or near its lowest level.

    With the tide out, the harbor turned into a wide stretch of wet sand.

    Fishermen dig for clams on the flats whenever the tide is out.

    UsageThe tide is out, the tide goes out; the opposite is in.

    Similarlow

    Oppositein, high

    Note

    Said only of the tide, and its partner is in: the tide comes in and goes out, and when it is out the shore is exposed. It sits naturally in absolute phrases such as with the tide out. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • At low tide, the intertidal part of the shore is exposed. nps.gov
38. 38
    adjective

    Of a calculation or measurement, containing errors or discrepancies, or wrong by a stated amount.

    The auditors found that the quarterly figures were out by nearly two thousand dollars.

    If the first measurement is out even slightly, none of the shelves will fit.

    UsageOut by + an amount: out by two thousand dollars.

    Similaroff, wrong, inaccurate

    Oppositeaccurate, correct

39. 39
    interjection

    Used in radio communication, especially military, to show that the speaker has finished transmitting and does not expect a response.

    "Bravo Two, bridge secured, no casualties. Out."

    "Roger, convoy halts at the checkpoint until further notice. Out."

    Oppositeover

    Note

    Radio procedure keeps out and over strictly apart: over hands the channel to the other station and invites a reply, while out closes the exchange. Because they do opposite jobs, a careful operator never says both, so the over and out of films and games is a contradiction on a real military net. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Over ends a transmission and invites the other station to reply. en.wikipedia.org
    • Out ends the exchange without expecting a reply. reforger.armaplatform.com
    • Over and out have contradictory meanings and should not be combined in proper radio procedure. en.wiktionary.org
40. 40
    adjective

    Eliminated from a tournament or competition, whether by defeat or by failing to qualify, said of a player or team.

    The defending champions are out after a shock defeat in the quarterfinals.

    Despite winning its final group game, the team was out on goal difference.

    UsageWith of + the event: out of the cup. Teams go out or are knocked out.

41. 41
    adjectivecolloquialUSus

    Short by a stated amount, particularly of money, that has been lost or spent and will not be recovered.

    After a bad night at the poker table, Mike was out three hundred dollars and his watch.

    When the contractor vanished with the down payment, the Garcias were out five thousand dollars.

    UsageThe sum comes right after it: out fifty dollars, out a month's rent.

    Similardown

    Oppositeup

    Note

    This belongs to casual, mostly American talk about money lost or spent. It suits a bad bet or a scam.

42. 42
    preposition

    Used with of to state the emotion or motive that leads someone to act, as in out of pity or out of spite.

    Out of respect for the family, the newspaper did not print the photos.

    He stayed in the job for years, mostly out of fear of starting over.

    UsageOut of + a feeling: out of pity, out of spite. For outside causes, use because of: because of rain.

    Note

    The motive is pictured as a source the act springs from: out of pity, out of spite, out of curiosity.

43. 43
    preposition

    Used with of to name the material or source from which something is made.

    She sewed a quilt out of her late father's shirts.

    Several startups are now making jet fuel out of used cooking oil.

    UsageOften made out of: a quilt made out of old shirts. Made of is also common.

44. 44
    adverb

    Away from the person acting, usually with force, as in lash out, kick out or hit out.
45. 45
    adverb

    So as to come into view in the sky, clear of cloud or mist, as when the sun comes out.
46. 46
    noun

    In cricket, the dismissal of a batter under the rules, ending that player's innings, as when a bowled ball breaks the wicket.
47. 47
    noun

    In poker and similar games, a card still to come that would turn a hand into a winning one.
48. 48
    noundated

    A short trip or excursion for pleasure.

    Us London lawyers don't often get an out; and when we do, we like to make the most of it, you know.

    1852, Charles Dickens, Bleak House
49. 49
    noun

    A person or thing not in, especially a politician or party no longer in power.
50. 50
    noun

    An outer place or corner, such as a nook, a jutting angle, or an open area.
51. 51
    noundated

    In printing, a word or passage the typesetter skipped by mistake when setting the copy.
52. 52
    nouncolloquial

    A take or scene cut from the final version of a film or recording.
53. 53
    nounobsolete

    A small glass for a measure of whisky or other spirits.
54. 54
    verb

    To drive or throw someone from a place.
55. 55
    verb

    To make hidden information known to others.
56. 56
    verb

    To kill someone, putting an end to their life.
57. 57
    adjective

    Not in place inside something, such as a removed drawer or unplugged cable.
58. 58
    adjectiverare

    Open in public about a particular identity or background, as in 'out as an atheist'.
59. 59
    adjectiveobsolete

    Of a young woman, formally introduced into society and so free to receive suitors.

    "Pray, is she out, or is she not?—I am puzzled.—She dined at the Parsonage, with the rest of you, which seemed like being out; and yet she says so little, that I can hardly suppose she is."

    1814, [Jane Austen], Mansfield Park
60. 60
    interjectionslang

    Used as an abrupt or theatrical way to say goodbye.