1
2
: physically weakened or incapacitated
down-and-out noun
or down-and-outer

Examples of down-and-out in a Sentence

I'm over the flu, but I still feel down-and-out a soup kitchen where the down-and-out daily line up for a hot meal
Recent Examples on the Web The down-and-out loner has murdered people who’d made fun of him, including the host of a TV talk show. Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Oct. 2024 The Dow and small-cap Russell 2000 were again the big winners as the rotation from market darlings to down-and-out names due for a catch-up trade continued. Zev Fima, CNBC, 27 July 2024 In Giddens Ko’s Kung Fu, Ko plays one of two down-and-out students who stumble upon a martial arts master who changes their destiny – and that of their hometown. Mathew Scott, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 May 2024 Earlier drafts of the script had a darker, noir thriller centered around a down-and-out hero drowning his pain in tequila and painkillers. Meredith Woerner, Variety, 4 May 2024 Adapted from Sara Gruen’s 2006 best-seller, the story follows the young Jacob Jankowski (Grant Gustin), a vet school dropout who stumbles into a job with a down-and-out circus in the early 1930s. Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024 Pyle, as Doom’s down-and-out mom, surprises with a deep, melodious bark of a voice, which matches Cammish’s own talented howl. Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024 But the sight of a down-and-out Dan Aykroyd in a Santa suit eating a slab of salmon through his grungy cotton-candy beard fills us with the holiday spirit. Chris Nashawaty, EW.com, 28 Nov. 2023 Based on Candice Fox’s best-selling Crimson Lake novels, Troppo stars Jane as a down-and-out ex-cop Ted Conkaffey, who teams up with Amanda Pharell (Chamoun), an eccentric small-town private investigator to find out who murdered a local tech pioneer. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'down-and-out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of down-and-out was in 1894

Dictionary Entries Near down-and-out

Cite this Entry

“Down-and-out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/down-and-out. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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