feel out

phrasal verb

felt out; feeling out; feels out

: to talk to or question (someone) in an indirect way in order to find out if something one wants to do or get will be possible

He tried to feel us out to see if we'd loan him more money.

Examples of feel out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The move has allowed Ettinger, a writer who also works at a nonprofit, to build financial stability that had long felt out of reach. —Simmone Shah, TIME, 10 June 2024

Allis wanted to make sure the teenage Sellers didn’t feel out of place among a bunch of Kansas City movers and shakers. —Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 2 June 2024

Digital political strategists, however, are still feeling out how well A.I. tools actually work. —Steven Lee Myers, New York Times, 23 May 2024

Everyone kind of has feelings of maybe feeling out of place or who are kind of like Sheldon. —Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 14 May 2024

Pinterest shared some destinations that feel out of this world. —Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 1 May 2024

Lily feels out of her depth but is too dazzled by glimpses of Matthew’s luxe life to turn away immediately. —Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Apr. 2024

Some scientists hypothesize that feeling out of sync with peers during adolescence can contribute to feelings of loneliness and depression. —Alexa Lee, STAT, 7 Mar. 2024

But a stint in Hollywood never felt out of reach for the Bronx native, who has detailed being drawn to the art form of film. —Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024