out
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- away, abroad, absent, elsewhere, gone, not at home, outside
- extinguished, at an end, dead, ended, exhausted, expired, finished, used up

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English Thesaurus: outside, out, outdoors/out of doors, in the open air, al fresco, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. out¹ S1 W1 /aʊt/ adverb
[Language: Old English; Origin: ut]

1. FROM INSIDE from inside an object, container, building, or place Antonym : in:
She opened her suitcase and took out a pair of shoes.
Lock the door on your way out.
Charlotte went to the window and looked out.
Out you go (=used to order someone to leave a room)!
out of
The keys must have fallen out of my pocket.
Get out of here!
Someone had torn several pages out of her diary.
I don’t think I’d have the courage to jump out of a plane.
All the roads out of the city were snowbound.
out came/jumped etc
The egg cracked open and out came a baby chick.

2. OUTSIDE not inside a building Synonym : outside:
Many of the homeless have been sleeping out for years.
Children were out playing in the snow.
Brrr, it’s cold out there.

3. NOT AT HOME
a) away from your home, office etc, especially for a short time Antonym : in:
Did anyone call while I was out?
My parents are both out at the moment.
He went out at 11 o'clock.
b) to or in a place that is not your home, in order to enjoy yourself:
You should get out and meet people.
Let’s eat out tonight (=eat in a restaurant).
At first he was too shy to ask her out.
be/get out and about (=go to places where you can meet people)
Most teenagers would rather be out and about with their friends.

4. DISTANT PLACE
a) in or to a place that is far away or difficult to get to:
He went out to New Zealand.
They’ve rented a farmhouse right out in the country.
b) used to say how far away something is:
The Astra Satellite is travelling some 23,000 miles out in space.
out of
a little village about five miles out of Birmingham

5. GIVEN TO MANY PEOPLE used to say that something is given to many people:
The examination will start when all the question papers have been handed out.
Have you sent out the invitations yet?

6. GET RID OF SOMETHING used to say that someone gets rid of something or makes it disappear:
Have you thrown out yesterday’s paper?
Mother used washing soda to get the stains out.

7. NOT BURNING/SHINING a fire or light that is out is no longer burning or shining:
Turn the lights out when you go to bed.
The firefighters arrived, and within minutes the fire was out.

8. SUN/MOON ETC if the sun, moon, or stars are out, they have appeared in the sky:
When the sun came out, a rainbow formed in the sky.

9. FLOWERS if the flowers on a plant are out, they have opened:
It’s still February and already the primroses are out.

10. COMPLETELY/CAREFULLY used to say that something is done carefully or completely:
I spent all morning cleaning out the kitchen cupboards.
In the summer months the soil dries out quickly.

11. NOT INCLUDED not included in a team, group, competition etc:
The Welsh team was surprisingly knocked out in the semi finals.
out of
Daniels will be out of the team until he recovers from his injury.

12. COME FROM SOMETHING used to say where something comes from or is taken from
out of
A lot of good music came out of the hippy culture in the 1960s.
The money is automatically taken out of your bank account every month.

13. AWAY FROM THE EDGE OF SOMETHING away from the main part or edge of something:
I swam out into the middle of the lake.
A long peninsula juts out into the sea.
out of
She stuck her head out of the window to see what was happening.

14. NOT WORKING especially American English if a machine, piece of equipment etc is out, it is not working:
I don’t believe it – the elevator’s out again! ⇒ be out of order at order¹(8)

15. PRODUCT used to say that a product is available to be bought:
Is the new Harry Potter book out yet?
Sony have brought out a new portable music system.

16. NOT IN A SITUATION no longer in a particular state or situation
out of
She’s not completely cured, but at least she’s out of danger.
This whole situation is getting out of control.
How long have you been out of work now?
Karen waved until the car was out of sight (=too far away to be seen).

17. HAVING LEFT AN INSTITUTION
a) having left the institution where you were
out of
a kid just out of college
His wife isn’t out of hospital yet.
b) no longer in prison:
Once he was out, he returned to a life of crime.

18. NOT FASHIONABLE no longer fashionable Antonym : in:
You can’t wear that – maxi skirts have been out for years.

19. NOT SECRET no longer a secret:
Her secret was out.
The word’s out that Mel Gibson is in town.
Eventually the truth came out.

20. read/shout etc something out (loud) to say something in a voice that is loud enough for others to hear:
Someone called out my name.
We all listened as he read the statement out loud.

21. UNCONSCIOUS not conscious:
She fainted – she was out for about ten minutes.
How hard did you hit him? He’s out cold.

22. NONE LEFT used to say that there is none of something left because you have used it all, sold it all etc:
The album was sold out within minutes.
out of
We’re out of milk.
They’ve run out of ideas.

23. before the day/year etc is out before the day, year etc has ended:
Don’t cry, I’ll be back before the week’s out.

24. NOT CORRECT if a measurement, result etc is out, it is wrong because the numbers have not been calculated correctly:
He was out in his calculations, so there was a lot of carpet left over.
The bill was out by over £10.
Their forecast was way out. ⇒ not far off/out/wrong at far¹(2)

25. be out for something/be out to do something informal to have a particular intention:
Andrew’s just out for a good time.
I was convinced he was out to cheat me.

26. NOT IN POWER used to say that someone, especially a political party, no longer has power or authority Antonym : in:
It’s time we voted the Republicans out.
out of
The party has been out of office for a long time.

27. ON STRIKE British English used to say that someone has stopped working as a way of protesting about something:
The railway workers have come out in sympathy with the miners.

28. HOMOSEXUAL if a homosexual is out, they have told people that they are homosexual

29. NOT POSSIBLE spoken if a particular suggestion or activity is out, it is not possible:
We don’t have enough money to rent a car, so that’s out.

30. SEA when the tide is out, the sea by the shore is at its lowest level Antonym : in:
You can walk across the sands when the tide is out.

31. SPORT
a) a player or team that is out in a game such as cricket or baseball is no longer allowed to bat:
Sussex were all out for 365.
b) a ball that is out in a game such as tennis or basketball is not in the area of play Antonym : in

32. out with it! spoken used to tell someone to say something which they have been unwilling to say or have difficulty saying:
OK, out with it! What really happened?

33. REASON because of a particular feeling that you have
out of
They obeyed him out of fear rather than respect.
Just out of curiosity, why did you take that job?

34. MADE OF SOMETHING used to say what substance or materials a particular thing is made of
out of
a tombstone carved out of black marble
toy boats made out of old tin cans

35. HOW MANY OF A GROUP used to say how common something is, or how large a part of a group you are talking about
nine out of ten/three out of four etc
Nine out of ten students pass the test first time.
Apparently they’ve lost three games out of seven already.

36. out of it informal
a) slightly unhappy because you feel different from the rest of a group of people and cannot share their fun, conversation etc:
I felt a bit out of it because I was the only one who couldn’t speak French.
b) unable to think clearly because you are tired or drunk, or have taken drugs:
You were really out of it last night. What were you drinking?

37. out there
a) in a place that could be anywhere except here:
My real father is out there and one day I plan to find him.
b) where someone or something can be noticed by many people:
Jerry Lewis is out there all the time raising money for disabled kids.
c) informal an idea, work of art etc that is out there is so unusual that it might seem silly or extreme:
He’s brilliant, but some of his ideas are really out there.

38. out front especially American English
a) in front of something, especially a building, where everyone can see you:
There’s a blue car out front.
b) taking a leading position:
As a civil rights leader, he was always out front.
c) informal very honest and direct:
Molly is very out front in talking about her mistakes.
⇒ out of your mind at mind¹(24), ⇒ out of the blue at blue²(4), ⇒ out of luck at luck¹(10), ⇒ out of this world at world¹(15), ⇒ be out of the question at question¹(9), ⇒ out front at front¹(8), ⇒ out back at back²(2), ⇒ out of sorts at sort¹(10)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. out² S1 W1 preposition especially American English informal
from the inside to the outside of something – many teachers of British English consider it incorrect to use ‘out’ as a preposition:
Karen looked out the window at the back yard.
Get out the car and push with the rest of us!

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

III. out³ verb

1. [transitive usually passive] to publicly say that someone is homosexual when that person would prefer to keep it secret:
Several gay politicians have been outed in recent months.

2. murder/the truth etc will out! used to say that it is difficult to hide a murder, the truth etc

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

IV. out⁴ noun

1. [singular] an excuse to avoid doing an activity or to avoid being blamed for something:
I’m busy on Sunday, so that gives me an out.

2. [countable] an act of making a player in baseball lose the chance to score a point

3. on the outs (with somebody) American English informal arguing or not agreeing with someone:
Wilson is on the outs with his family because of his relationship with that woman.
⇒ ins and outs

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

out- /aʊt/ prefix

1. used to form nouns and adjectives from verbs that are followed by ‘out’:
an outbreak of flu (=from ‘break out’)
outspoken comments (=from ‘speak out’)

2. [in nouns and adjectives] outside or beyond something:
an outbuilding (=small building away from the main building)
outlying areas (=far from the centre)

3. [in verbs] being or becoming bigger, further, greater etc than someone or something else:
He’s outgrown his clothes (=become too big for them).
She outlived her brother (=he died before her).

4. [in verbs] doing better than someone, so that you defeat them:
I can out-argue you any day.
She outran him.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

out
adverb
BAD: When we came out the restaurant, it was half past eleven.
GOOD: When we came out of the restaurant, it was half past eleven.
BAD: She suddenly stood up and ran out from the room.
GOOD: She suddenly stood up and ran out of the room.

Usage Note:
verb of movement + out : 'I'm afraid Mr Baker has just gone out.'
verb of movement + out of + somewhere (NOT out or out from ): 'I've just seen Mr Baker going out of the building.'
In informal conversation, out is sometimes used instead of out of : 'I saw someone jump out the window.' However, careful users consider this to be incorrect.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

outside not inside a building, but usually close to it:
Whey don’t you go outside and play?
He was standing outside, smoking a cigarette.
out outside – used mainly before the following prepositions or adverbs:
We slept out under the stars.
Don’t stand out in the rain – come inside.
I can hear somebody out there.
outdoors/out of doors away from buildings and in the open air – used especially when talking about pleasant or healthy things you do outside:
In the summer, we like to eat outdoors.
Kids should spend as much time out of doors as possible.
in the open air outside where the air is fresh:
It’s good to exercise in the open air.
Leave the wood to dry slowly in the open air.
al fresco outside – used when talking about eating outside:
We prefer to dine al fresco.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲