count out

verb

counted out; counting out; counts out

transitive verb

1

: to not include (someone) in an activity

If you are looking for people to help you clean the house today, count me out.

2

: to decide that (someone or something) cannot win or succeed

Don't count out our team just yet. They could still win.

3

: to count (a certain number of items to be separated from a quantity one is holding)

He counted out ten tickets and handed them to her.

4

: to signal the knockout of (a boxer who is down) by completing an audible count of 10 seconds before the boxer rises

Examples of count out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The checkout assistant carefully counts out the yellowish tokens and hands them to Dad. —Literary Hub, 24 Nov. 2025

The Kansas City Chiefs proved why they can never be counted out, as the team pulled off a big win against the Indianapolis Colts. —James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Nov. 2025

Sylvester Stallone — who also wrote the film — cemented his screen persona here as the titular underdog boxer who is counted out time and time again, only to prove his worth in a match against the world heavyweight champion. —Gwen Ihnat, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Nov. 2025

Nike may be clawing its way back to popularity, but don’t count out On Holding. —Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 12 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for count out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout