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

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

Raised in the Presbyterian Church and trained as a minister there, Tome counts himself among those who grew to feel out of place in the church of his childhood. —Dan Horn, The Enquirer, 20 Mar. 2024

Try out different scents for each season, too; something that wears like a wool sweater in winter will feel out of place in summer; use that as an excuse to get something aquatic or green in the warmer months. —Adam Hurly, Robb Report, 5 Mar. 2024

And somewhere in the second half, the legs just felt out from under me. —Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2024

When tasked with repairing a piece of furniture, my lack of handyman skills left me feeling out of my depth. —Jonathan Fischbein, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024

But was that all part of Andrew's script or those were things that you guys were kind of feeling out in the moment? —Ew Staff, EW.com, 11 Jan. 2024

These moments can make people feel out of control, and the emotions involved can feel bad or uncomfortable in themselves. —Heather Lench, Scientific American, 21 Feb. 2024

Younger generations are more likely not to drink or at least explore being sober curious, meaning the once ubiquitous bar cart suddenly feels out of place. —Maggie Gillette, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Feb. 2024