bailout

1 of 2

noun

bail·​out ˈbāl-ˌau̇t How to pronounce bailout (audio)
: a rescue from financial distress

bail out

2 of 2

verb

bailed out; bailing out; bails out

intransitive verb

1
: to parachute from an aircraft
2
: to abandon a harmful or difficult situation
also : leave, depart

Examples of bailout in a Sentence

Noun government bailouts of large corporations Verb if the meeting seems like it will never end, find an excuse to bail out the government bailed out the savings and loan industry
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Two of the Big Three companies, GM and Chrysler, went bankrupt in 2009 and needed federal bailouts to survive. Chris Isidore, CNN, 27 Feb. 2024 In a matter of months, the company went from planning an IPO to laying off thousands and procuring a multi-billion-dollar bailout. Ethan M Steinberg, Fortune, 7 Nov. 2023 Ghana's currency has experienced a sharp decline and the country has agreed a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund, after defaulting on most of its foreign debt. Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR, 25 Feb. 2024 The release of a key tranche from that bailout remained on hold, causing a sudden increase in inflation and a devaluation of Pakistani's currency against the U.S. dollar. Munir Ahmed, Quartz, 23 Feb. 2024 His 2008 financial crisis-era GE Capital expansion failed, requiring a bailout. Jim Osman, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 The company also managed to have its total $209,000 in bailout loans forgiven, The Post reported. Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2024 After China — which has become the largest export market for American farmers — retaliated by raising tariffs on U.S. agricultural products like soybeans, the Trump administration began a $28 billion government bailout to keep farmers afloat. Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 26 Dec. 2023 News of a reversal in Uniper's fortunes follows a report by Reuters that the German government was looking to recoup some its bailout funds by selling as much as 30% of its stake via a potential share sale in 2025. Gaurav Sharma, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024
Verb
What’s more, JavaScript was, in a sense, bailed out of its terribleness by colossal advancements in software engineering and industry-wide efforts. Sheon Han, WIRED, 4 Mar. 2024 Ten Oaks Management claims Boeing lured it into bailing out the floundering parts supplier while withholding information about what that would mean financially. Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 14 Feb. 2024 The series series was initially bailed out by a Chiefs’ holding penalty and a Brandon Aiyuk third-down conversion. Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 12 Feb. 2024 That side of the ball has been bailing out the Chiefs' mistake-prone offense for much of the season. Dave Skretta, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2024 The network declined to bail out the Pac-12 with a deal that might have kept the conference from all but disbanding, and also passed on a Big Ten media rights deal, which ultimately was divided among Fox, CBS and NBC. Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2024 Michigan nearly made a big error on the first play of the game, but was bailed out by a few slivers of grass. Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press, 1 Jan. 2024 Stroman remains in Santa Rita Jail and cannot be bailed out, records show. Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 15 Feb. 2024 While most of the men (as many as 150 in one afternoon) have perished, others are stuck behind enemy lines, having bailed out of their crashing planes by parachute. Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 26 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bailout.' 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

Noun

1939, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1925, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bailout was in 1925

Dictionary Entries Near bailout

Cite this Entry

“Bailout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bailout. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bail out

verb
1
: to jump out of an airplane with a parachute
2
: to help from a difficult situation

Legal Definition

bailout

noun
bail·​out ˈbāl-ˌau̇t How to pronounce bailout (audio)
: a rescue from financial distress

More from Merriam-Webster on bailout

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