out

Alternative forms

• oute (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English out, oute, from a combination of Old English ūt (“out”, preposition & adverb), from Proto-West Germanic *ūt, from Proto-Germanic *ūt (“out”); and Old English ūte (“outside; without”, adverb), from Proto-Germanic *ūtai (“out; outside”); both from Proto-Indo-European *úd (“upwards, away”).

Cognate with Scots oot, out (“out”), Saterland Frisian uut, uute (“out”), West Frisian út (“out”), Dutch uit (“out”), German Low German ut (“out”), German aus (“out”), Norwegian/Swedish ut, ute (“out; outside”), Danish ud, ude (“out; outside”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: out, IPA^(key): /aʊt/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /æɔt/, /æʊt/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ʌʊt/, [əu̯t]
  • (Southern Ontario) IPA^(key): [ɛʊ̯t]

  • Audio (Canada):

    (file)

• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ɘʉt/
• Rhymes: -aʊt

Adverb

out (not comparable)

1. Away from the inside or centre.

   The magician tapped the hat, and a rabbit jumped out.

   There was a hole in the bucket, and all the water leaked out.

2. Away from, or at a distance from, some point of reference or focus.

   Once they had landed, the commandos quickly spread out along the beach.

   For six hours the tide flows out, then for six hours it flows in.

   He lives out in Australia.

   It's three miles out to the island.

   The Joneses don't live here any more. They moved out three months ago.

   1. Specifically, away from home or one's usual place.

      Let’s eat out tonight

   2. Away from the doer, especially vigorously.

      hit out, lash out, speak out, shout out, yell out

3. (informal) Away, or at a distance, in time (relative to, and usually after, the present or a stated event) (often preceded by a stated time period and followed by "from")

   Five years out from the passing of the law, nothing had actually changed.

   The election is a long way out. (a long way in the future)

4. Outside; not indoors.

   Last night we slept out under the stars.

   It's cold out.

5. (sports) Of the ball or other playing implement, so as to pass or be situated beyond the bounds of the playing area.

   The football caught the edge of the line but then bounced out.

6. Into a state of non-operation or non-existence.

   Turn the lights out.

   Put the fire out.

   I painted out that nasty mark on the wall.

7. To the end; completely; so that nothing remains.

   I haven’t finished. Hear me out.

   Sorry love, we've got no bananas. We've sold out.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalm 4:23:

     Deceitful men shall not live out half their days.

   • 1984, "All cried out", song by English singer-songwriter Alison Moyet:

     I'm all cried out / You took a whole lot of loving for a handful of nothing

   1. Shows that an activity has been completed to the point of exhaustion.

      After hours at the party, she was all danced out.

8. Used to intensify or emphasize.

   The place was all decked out for the holidays.

9. Into a state of existence or visibility.

   The singer is bringing out a new album next month.

   The sun has brought the flowers out.

   1. (of the sun, moon, stars, etc.) So as to be visible in the sky, and not covered by clouds, fog, etc.

      The sun came out after the rain, and we saw a rainbow.

10. (cricket, baseball) Of a player, so as to be disqualified from playing further by some action of a member of the opposing team (such as being stumped in cricket).

    Wilson was bowled out for five runs.

    • 1876, The School newspaper Vol. [2 issues of vols. 31 and 32]., page 66:

      First ball hit me on the 'and, second 'ad me on the knee, the third was in my eye, the fourth bowled me out.

    • 1984, Official Baseball Guide, page 211:

      Hayes batted for Reed and grounded out, Murray unassisted.

    • 2007, Philip R. Craig, William G. Tapply, Third Strike: A Brady Coyne/J. W. Jackson Mystery, page 27:

      So, first guy, Larry strikes him out, good fastball in on his hands.

    • 2010, Mark Butcher, Paul Abraham, Learn to Play Cricket: Teach Yourself, page A-65:

      The striking batter is bowled out when the wicket is broken with the bowler's delivery. A batter is bowled out whether or not the ball is touched or deflected into the stumps by the batter.

Preposition

out

1. (informal, sometimes proscribed) From the inside to the outside of; out of. [from 14th c.]

   throw it out the window; get it out your mind

   • c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

     Can you, when you have pushed out your gates the very defender of them, and in a violent popular ignorance given your enemy your shield, think to front his revenges with the easy groans of old women, the virginal palms of your daughters, or with the palsied intercession of such a decayed dotant as you seem to be?

   • 1830, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Adeline:

     Thy roselips and full blue eyes / Take the heart from out my breast.

   • 2012, Thomas Gifford, Woman in the Window:

     After she'd made her single cup of coffee she sat looking out the window into the slushy, halficy backyard and dialed Tony's number on Staten Island.

Noun

out (plural outs)

1. A means of exit, escape, reprieve, etc.

   Hyponyms: cop-out, get-out

   They wrote the law to give those organizations an out.

3. (baseball) A state in which a member of the batting team is removed from play due to the application of various rules of the game such as striking out, hitting a fly ball which is caught by the fielding team before bouncing, etc.
   • 2014, Tom Bentley, Flowering: And Other Stories:

     The first time I saw Amity we were in front of her house playing work-up, a baseball variation where you move from position to position by outs until you get to bat.

4. (cricket) A dismissal; a state in which a member of the batting team finishes his turn at bat, due to the application of various rules of the game, such as the bowler knocking over the batsman's wicket with the ball.
5. (poker) A card which can make a hand a winner.
   • 2005, Alison M. Pendergast, Play Winning Poker in No Time, page 57:

     As a beginner, when you are in a hand, you should practice counting your outs, or those live cards left in the deck that can improve your hand.

   • 2006, David Apostolico, Lessons from the Professional Poker Tour, page 21:

     If he did have a bigger ace, I still had at least six outs — the case ace, two nines, and three tens. I could also have more outs if he held anything less than A-K.

6. (dated) A trip out; an outing.
   • 1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC:

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

7. (chiefly in the plural) One who, or that which, is out; especially, one who is out of office.

   Antonym: in

   • 1827, Benjamin Chew, A Sketch of the Politics, Relations, and Statistics, of the Western World, page 192:

     This memoir has nothing to do with the question between the ins and the outs; it is intended neither to support nor to assail the administration; it is general in its views upon a general and national subject; […]

8. A place or space outside of something; a nook or corner; an angle projecting outward; an open space.
9. (printing, dated) A word or words omitted by the compositor in setting up copy; an omission.

Verb

out (third-person singular simple present outs, present participle outing, simple past and past participle outed)

1. (transitive) To eject; to expel.
   • 1689, John Selden, Table Talk:

     a king outed of his country

   • 1674, Peter Heylin, Cosmographie in four bookes:

     The French have been outed from their holds.

   • 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

     "I outed myself for life that night. I can put up a show fight and exhibition bout, but I'm done for the real thing."

2. (intransitive) To come or go out; to get out or away; to become public, revealed, or apparent.

   Synonyms: come to light, crop out

   Coordinate term: crop up

   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

     Truth will out.

   • 1643, John Milton, Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce:

     In which Argument he whose courage can serve him to give the first onset, must look for two severall oppositions: the one from those who having sworn themselves to long custom and the letter of the Text, will not out of the road: the other from those whose grosse and vulgar apprehensions conceit but low of matrimoniall purposes, and in the work of male and female think they have all.

   • 2016 September 28, Tom English, “Celtic 3–3 Manchester City”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎, BBC Sport:

     In those opening minutes City looked like a team that were not ready for Celtic's intensity. They looked a bit shocked to be involved in a fight. Class will out, though.

4. (transitive) To reveal (a person or organization) as having a certain secret, such as a being a secret agent or undercover detective.
   • 2009 March 16, Maurna Desmond, "AIG Outs Counterparties" (online news article), Forbes.com.
   • 2017, Jeph Jacques, Questionable Content (webcomic), Number 3509: Sensitive Information:

     "Did Dora just offer up that advice, or were you pumping her for information?" "Shoot, I outed my informant. I'm a terrible spy."

5. (transitive) To reveal (a secret).

   A Brazilian company outed the new mobile phone design.

   • 2022 December 16, Alyssa Bailey, “Zendaya Took Tom Holland to Visit Her Old School in Oakland”, in Elle‎:

     [Tom] Holland himself admitted to GQ last year that the two hadn't really wanted to go public with their dating status. A video of them making out in a car outed their relationship.

7. (transitive, LGBTQ) To reveal (a person) as LGBT+ (gay, trans, etc).
   • 2014 July 18, Jase Peeples, “Susan Blu: Transformation of an Animation Icon”, in The Advocate‎:

     She throws her head back and lets out a warm laugh before she continues, “After that I thought, What am I so worried about? So I began to tell more people, and the more I outed myself, the easier it got.”

   • 2015, Juliet Jacques, Trans: A Memoir, Verso Books, →ISBN:

     Trans Media Watch had recently spoken at the Leveson Inquiry about how the Sun and the Daily Mail routinely outed trans people, publishing old names and photos, for no reason other than because they could.

   • 2015 December 30, Kathy, “Kathy's Favorite Photo (of Kathy!)”, in Femulate‎:

     Always in my life I knew I was different. I also accepted that in a way, but I thought I could just live out those desires in private, for myself. I also have gone out en femme for a couple of years. […] I outed myself to my sister, which was super positive and is^[sic] now my biggest supporter (love u sis!).

   • 2016, Molly Booth, Saving Hamlet, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, →ISBN:

     The Parkses were strict and narrowminded, and not knowing what to do with their recently outed bisexual teenage daughter, their obvious solution was to cut her off from her friends and keep her from leaving the house.

   • 2020, Jos Twist, Meg-John Barker, Kat Gupta, Benjamin Vincent, Non-Binary Lives: An Anthology of Intersecting Identities, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, →ISBN, page 116:

     As of 2018, I chair the workforce committee and lead on diversity and inclusion, including heading up a policy review on gender identity and trans inclusion, although that led me to be publicly outed as non-binary in the Sunday Times.

8. To kill; to snuff out.
   • 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

     "In my own case, I was beaten about the head by their wings, so we have had a remarkable exhibition of their various methods of offence." "It has been touch and go for our lives," said Lord John, gravely, "and I could not think of a more rotten sort of death than to be outed by such filthy vermin."

Adjective

out (not comparable)

1. Not inside or within a place, especially a place that someone or something was formerly inside or is customarily inside:

   I worked away cleaning the U-bend until all the gunge was out.

   This building is unsafe. Keep out!

   1. Not at home, or not at one's office or place of employment.

      I'm sorry, Mr Smith is out at the moment.

   2. Not in jail, prison, or captivity; freed from confinement.

      Sentenced to five years, he could be out in three with good behavior.

   3. Not fitted or inserted into something.

      The TV won't work with the plug out!

   4. (sports) Of the ball or other playing implement, falling or passing or being situated beyond the bounds of the playing area.

      I thought the ball hit the line, but the umpire said it was out.

2. Not (or no longer) acceptable or in consideration, play, availability, or operation:
   1. (in various games; used especially of a batsman or batter in cricket or baseball) Dismissed from play under the rules of the game.

      He bowls, Johnson pokes at it ... and ... Johnson is out! Caught behind by Ponsonby!

   2. (of ideas, plans, etc.) Discarded; no longer a possibility.

      Right, so that idea's out. Let's move on to the next one.

   3. (of options) No longer acceptable or permissible.

      I've got diabetes, so cookies are right out.

   4. (of certain services, devices, or facilities) Not available; out of service.

      Power is out in the entire city.

      My wi-fi is out.

   5. (of a user of a service) Not having availability of a service, such as power or communications.

      Most of the city got service back yesterday, but my neighborhood is still out.

   6. (of lamps, fires etc.) Not shining or burning.

      I called round to the house but all the lights were out and no one was home.

   8. (of an organization, etc.) Temporarily not in operation, or not being attended as usual.
      • 1990 August 20, PBS NewsHour (TV), DeFrank (actor):

        No one is out screaming about Congress being out on a month long vacation.

      • 2012 October 23, Kids As Caregivers Face Special Challenges (radio), via National Public Radio:

        […] I had to be there after high school, I mean, after school was out, and after college was out, I had to go straight home.

      • 2013 August 4, Powerhouse Roundtable (TV), Jeff Zeleny (actor), via ABC:

        It's a good thing that Congress is out for the month of August […]

      School is out tomorrow due to snow.
      When college is out for the summer, I'll head back to my home state.

      when school gets out today
      After school's out, I go to the library until my mom gets off work.

   9. Unconscious.

      I had a whack on the head and was out for a few seconds.

   10. No longer popular or in fashion.

       Black is out this season. The new black is white.

4. Open or public (about something).
   1. (LGBTQ) Openly acknowledging that one is LGBT+ (gay, trans, etc).

      It's no big deal to be out in the entertainment business.

      • 2011, Allan Bérubé, My Desire for History: Essays in Gay, Community, and Labor History:

        I had not come out yet and he was out but wasn't; quite ungay, I would say, and yet gay.

      • 2018, Matthew Waites, Supporting Young Transgender Men: A Guide for Professionals, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, →ISBN, page 40:

        However, for a transgender man, while living stealth can be a feasible option for some, key people will need to know […] Not everyone has to be out, loud and proud or march down the streets holding trans flags […]

   2. (by extension, uncommon) Open, public; public about or openly acknowledging some (usually specified) identity.
      • 2014, Arlene Stein, Reluctant Witnesses: Survivors, Their Children, and the Rise of Holocaust Consciousness, Oxford University Press, →ISBN:

        She was “out” as a survivor for the first time in her life. “I had friends who had known me many, many years who are totally astounded, shocked,” she said. “They could not believe that I was a Holocaust survivor. […] ”

      • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:out.
5. Freed from secrecy.

   My secret is out.

6. Available to be seen, or to be interacted with in some way:
   1. Released, available for purchase, download or other use.

      Did you hear? Their newest CD is out!

      • 2009, Roger Stahl, Militainment, Inc.: War, Media, and Popular Culture, page 96:

        The game was commercially released on Xbox and PC in 2005 as an installment of the Close Combat series, which had been out since 1996.

   2. (of flowers) In bloom.

      The garden looks beautiful now that the roses are out.

   3. (of the sun, moon or stars) Visible in the sky; not obscured by clouds.

      The sun is out, and it's a lovely day.

   4. (obsolete) Of a young lady: having entered society and available to be courted.
      • 1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], chapter V, in Mansfield Park: […], volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 98:

        "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."

7. Of the tide, at or near its lowest level.

   You can walk to the island when the tide's out.

9. Without; no longer in possession of; not having any more.

   Synonym: all out (intensive but synonymous)

   Hyponym: fresh out (broadly synonymous)

   Do you have any bread? Sorry, we're out.

10. (of calculations or measurements) Containing errors or discrepancies, or in error by a stated amount.

    Nothing adds up in this report. All these figures are out.

    The measurement was out by three millimetres.

Interjection

out

1. (procedure word, especially military) A radio procedure word meaning that the station is finished with its transmission and does not expect a response.

   Destruction. Two T-72s destroyed. Three foot mobiles down. Out.

   • 2002 November 18, Nintendo R&D1, Metroid Fusion, Nintendo, Game Boy Advance, scene: dispatch:

     [Galactic Federation official]: 'Does Samus suspect anything?' / Ship AI: 'No, I do not think so.' / [Galactic Federation official]: 'Good. Monitor her closely.' / Ship AI: 'Affirmative. Out.'

2. Get out; begone; away!
   • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     Out, damned spot! Out, I say!

References

• Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Bounded landmarks", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8
• “out”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ut/

Verb

out

1. second-person singular present indicative of bezañ

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [əwutʰ]

Noun

out

1. rat

References

• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

Alternative forms

• OUT

Etymology

From English outdated.

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some! Particularly: “Mandarin?”

Verb

out

1. (slang) to be outdated

   Antonym: in

Adjective

out

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) outdated

   Antonym: in

References

• English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese

Etymology

< English out

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑu̯t/, [ˈɑ̝u̯t̪]
• Rhymes: -ɑut

Adverb

out (informal)

1. out (no longer popular or in fashion)

   Minihamet ovat nyt out.

   The miniskirts are now out.

Etymology

Borrowed from English out. Doublet of aus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aʊ̯t/, [ʔaʊ̯tʰ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊ̯t

Adjective

out (indeclinable, predicative only)

1. (colloquial) out of fashion

   Synonyms: altmodisch, unmodern

   Antonyms: angesagt; (colloquial) in

2. (Austria, Switzerland, dated anywhere else, sports) ball crossing or landing outside of baseline or sideline (Association football: touchline) and thus becoming out of play

   Synonym: aus

   Der Ball war out. ― The ball was out.

Further reading

• “out” in Duden online
• “out” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “out”, in PONS (in German), Stuttgart: PONS GmbH, 2001–2024
  “out”, in PONS (in German), Stuttgart: PONS GmbH, 2001–2024

Etymology

From French août (“August”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ut/

Noun

out

1. August

Etymology

From French août.

Noun

out

1. August

Etymology

From Old Dutch ald, from Proto-West Germanic *ald, from Proto-Germanic *aldaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /out/

Adjective

out (comparative ouder, superlative outst)

1. old

   Antonym: jonc

Further reading

• “out”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “out (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I

Etymology

Borrowed from English out.

Noun

out m (plural outs)

1. (baseball) out

Adverb

out

1. Alternative form of udh
   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 60:

     Out o' harr.

     Out of joint, off hinge.

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 2, page 84:

     Ch'am a stouk, an a donel; wou'll leigh out ee dey.

     I am a fool and a dunce; we'll idle out the day.

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867