1
a(1)
: in a direction away from the inside or center
went out into the garden
(2)
: outside
it's raining out
b
: from among others
c
: away from the shore
d
: away from home or work
out to lunch
e
: away from a particular place
2
a
: so as to be missing or displaced from the usual or proper place
left a word out
threw his shoulder out
b
: into the possession or control of another
lend out money
c
: into a state of loss or defeat
was voted out
d
: into a state of vexation
they do not mark me, and that brings me out—
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
e
: into groups or shares
sorted out her notes
parceled out the farm
3
a
: to the point of depletion, extinction, or exhaustion
the food ran out
turn the light out
all tuckered out
b
: to completion or satisfaction
hear me out
work the problem out
c
: to the full or a great extent or degree
all decked out
stretched out on the floor
4
a
: in or into the open
the sun came out
b
: out loud
cried out
c
: in or into public circulation
the evening paper isn't out yet
hand out pamphlets
the library book is still out
5
a
: at an end
before the day is out
b
: in or into an insensible or unconscious state
she was out cold
c
: in or into a useless state
landed the plane with one engine out
d
: so as to end the offensive turn of another player, a side, or oneself in baseball
threw him out
fly out
6
—used on a two-way radio circuit to indicate that a message is complete and no reply is expected
outed; outing; outs
1
transitive
: to identify (someone) publicly as being such secretly
Ever feel as if your achievements are a fluke or that you're one conversation away from being outed as a fraud?—Gillian Fox
Gillian FoxFoster … was the man who outed the journalist Joe Klein as the author of the novel "Primary Colors."—Walter Kirn
Walter Kirn
especially
: to reveal the covert sexual orientation or gender identity of (someone)
outed her to her coworkers
In our case, a cross-section of writers and editors—male and female, gay and straight—agreed that it would be inappropriate to "out" this Pentagon official. —Richard Goldstein
Richard Goldstein 2
intransitive
: to become publicly known
the truth will out
Murder will out.
3
transitive
: to put out : to eject (someone) from a place, office, or possession : expel
During the suppression, we privately kept outed vicars as chaplains and attended secret Anglican services …—Rose Macaulay
Rose Macaulay
—used as a function word to indicate an outward movement
ran out the door
looked out the window
1
a
: situated outside : external
b
2
: situated at a distance : outlying
the out islands
3
: not being in power
4
: absent
5
: removed by the defense from play as a batter or base runner in a baseball inning
two men out
6
: directed outward or serving to direct something outward
the out basket
7
: not being in vogue or fashion
8
: not to be considered : out of the question
9
: determined sense 1
was out to get revenge
10
: engaged in or attempting a particular activity
won on his first time out
11
: having one's LGBTQ sexual orientation or gender identity publicly known
an out trans person
wasn't out during college
1
: outside
2
: one who is out of office or power or on the outside
a matter of outs versus ins
3
a
: an act or instance of putting a player out or of being put out in baseball
b
: a player that is put out
4
: a way of escaping from an embarrassing or difficult situation
: in a manner that exceeds or surpasses and sometimes overpowers or defeats
outmaneuver
Synonyms
Adverb
Verb
Adjective
- bent (on or upon)
- bound
- decisive
- determined
- do-or-die
- firm
- hell-bent (on or upon)
- intent
- purposeful
- resolute
- resolved
- set
- single-minded
Noun
Examples of out in a Sentence
Adverb
He went out to the garden.
He looked out at the snow.
She poured the tea out.
The girl stuck her tongue out.
His shirttail was hanging out.
I heard a noise in the bushes and out jumped a cat!
He waited out in the hall.
I cleaned my car inside and out.
A car pulled up and two men got out.
He grabbed his coat and out he went.
Verb
a gay actor who was outed in a magazine article
He is threatening to out other players who have used steroids.
Adjective
he's out to get even with the guy who beat him last time around
half the staff is out with the flu
Noun
The play resulted in an out.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, he hit a home run to win the game.
He changed the wording of the contract to give himself an out.
Recent Examples on the WebEsther Kang, Peoplemag, 29 Apr. 2024
Hunters and trappers killed about 52,000 coyotes in the 2016-17 seasons, but state biologists don’t know how many more are out there.
—Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 29 Apr. 2024
Teacher Appreciation Week Gift Ideas There are plenty of good gifts out there for teachers, so steer clear of the coffee mugs and consider these.
Plants or flowers
Plants and flowers are a fun and easy gift for Teacher Appreciation Week.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 29 Apr. 2024
Those kind of games meant everything, not just to the student-athletes but the school in terms of notoriety and getting your name out there.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Apr. 2024
Somebody out there knows what happened to my brother.
—Coleby Phillips, The Arizona Republic, 28 Apr. 2024
Types of Nylon There are more types of nylon out there than anyone can keep track of, which is where the denier rating system comes from.
—Scott Gilbertson Gear Team, WIRED, 28 Apr. 2024
Only nine of these extremely rare pairs have been matched, leaving millions of these special $1 bills out there.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
But there are enough out there to help scientists like me search for the most powerful neutrino emitters in the universe and study the limitless space in between.
—Doug Cowen, Discover Magazine, 27 Apr. 2024
Frank Bajak, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024
Here’s how to check When a transgender person is conducting bank transactions online, there's little risk the use of their former name will out them to other people, but in-person transactions are a different story, the report continued.
—The Arizona Republic, 14 Apr. 2024
In 2018, Pusha T lyrically outed Drake as having parented a son out of wedlock.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
In 2019, he’d been outed by anti-fascist researchers and the progressive media outlet Right Wing Watch.
—Brandy Zadrozny, NBC News, 3 Apr. 2024
Clark outed Calloway and told police his accomplice destroyed the weapon.
—Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2024
But the city is still a refuge for Bình, who was born in Saigon and worked in a colonial officer’s kitchen before he was outed as gay and forced to leave home.
—Celine Nguyen, The Atlantic, 20 Mar. 2024
The claims came in response to a story by The National Enquirer that shared personal text messages between Sánchez and Bezos, outing their relationship.
—Alexia Fernández, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2024
The final game test was Rainbow Six Extraction below and here the RX 7900 GRE was able to out pace the RTX 4070 Super at all three resolutions, still managing an average frame rate of 97fps at 4K, which matched the RTX 4070 Ti.
—Antony Leather, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
Kristine M. Kierzek, Journal Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2024
Volvo’s carved out a niche for itself among automakers that has stood the test of time.
—Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 19 Apr. 2024
This enduring ballad, whether belted out by Dolly, Whitney or Lorelai Gilmore, will always have the power to move even the strongest among us to tears.
—Shannon Carlin, TIME, 19 Apr. 2024
Advertisement The investment will round out more than a decade of upgrades that have, amid a consumer shift to online shopping, remade the outdoor shopping center into a resort-style destination that can accommodate a mix of interests.
—Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Apr. 2024
The omnipresence of the smartphone, even in conflict zones, means there is always a way to get many vital visuals on a story out.
—Tom Soufi Burridge, ABC News, 7 Apr. 2024
That is the fastest way to get hostages out and aid in, and to stop the fighting and loss of life.
—Mallory Moench, TIME, 7 Apr. 2024
Hold your arm out straight, directly in front of you, and put a finger up in the air.
—Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 7 Apr. 2024
Ruscha’s stains were left by automobiles parked out in the lot — ordinary, figurative images recorded by a cameraman the artist hired at a time when photography was a second-class medium for art.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2024
Alison Dirr, Journal Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2024
Absentee voting would be allowed for disabled people, those age 65 and up, voters living outside the state and are enrolled in an out-of-state college, overseas voters and active military members and their family members.
—Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic, 28 Mar. 2024
She was then asked to verify security information, after which she was informed that someone had been trying to take money out of her account from an out-of-state ATM.
—Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 15 Mar. 2024
In the episode, Buck and other firefighters from Station 118 helped out Captain Strand (Rob Lowe) and his team as an out-of-control wildfire ripped through Texas.
—Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024
Meaning, that in Sarasota, for example, there's a very lively cultural out scene, there are good restaurants, uh, uh, people are really nice.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Feb. 2024
Puk threw two shutout innings in the Marlins’ 7-1 spring training loss to the New York Mets on Tuesday at Clover Park, with his only blemish being a one-out walk to Francisco Alvarez in the first inning.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2024
Playing the recently divorced brother of Jeffrey Wright’s Monk Ellison (who is nominated for best actor), the Emmy winner delivered a nuanced performance in the dramedy as a newly out gay man.
—Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 25 Feb. 2024
After adding in the state and local sales tax, plus the DMV and dealer fees, the out the door and in your garage total purchase price came to: $63,484.
—Tony Leopardo, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2024
Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 1 May 2024
Snell recorded the first two outs, then gave up back-to-back singles before Randal Grichuk doubled to score two more and put Arizona ahead, 5-1.
—Jason Mastrodonato, The Mercury News, 20 Apr. 2024
Knack walked Joey Gallo to put two on with two outs but escaped further damage by striking out Nick Senzel with an 85-mph changeup, a whiff that seemed to calm the nerves of Knack, who retired the side in order in the second, third and fourth innings.
—Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Following an out, Ryanne Stephens reached on an infield single to short and Madison Haynes walked to load the bases.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Apr. 2024
Here’s the breakdown of the situation: The Marlins had a runner on first base and two outs in the eighth inning when Schumaker sent pinch-hitter Nick Gordon to face right-handed pitcher Ryan Walker.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
In the second, the Cubs loaded the bases again, this time with two outs.
—Bill Plunkett, Orange County Register, 6 Apr. 2024
The sauces were unveiled during a media preview at KFC’s headquarters in Louisville earlier this week, where Nick Chavez, CMO KFC U.S., spoke about the inspiration behind the menu item’s roll-out.
—The Courier-Journal, 28 Mar. 2024
With still no outs recorded, Jake Cronenworth smacked a two-run triple to the right-field corner, prompting an early mound visit from pitching coach Mark Prior.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Adverb
After spending time working on himself, Ashley’s bounced back mentally, physically, and emotionally, and is ready to get back out there!
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 29 Apr. 2024
Hunters and trappers killed about 52,000 coyotes in the 2016-17 seasons, but state biologists don’t know how many more are out there.
—Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 29 Apr. 2024
Teacher Appreciation Week Gift Ideas There are plenty of good gifts out there for teachers, so steer clear of the coffee mugs and consider these.
Plants or flowers
Plants and flowers are a fun and easy gift for Teacher Appreciation Week.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 29 Apr. 2024
Those kind of games meant everything, not just to the student-athletes but the school in terms of notoriety and getting your name out there.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Apr. 2024
Somebody out there knows what happened to my brother.
—Coleby Phillips, The Arizona Republic, 28 Apr. 2024
Types of Nylon There are more types of nylon out there than anyone can keep track of, which is where the denier rating system comes from.
—Scott Gilbertson Gear Team, WIRED, 28 Apr. 2024
Only nine of these extremely rare pairs have been matched, leaving millions of these special $1 bills out there.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
But there are enough out there to help scientists like me search for the most powerful neutrino emitters in the universe and study the limitless space in between.
—Doug Cowen, Discover Magazine, 27 Apr. 2024
Verb
Which hasn't prevented some from being outed by privacy warriors led by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and, now, the Biden administration's activist Federal Trade Commission.
—Frank Bajak, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024
Here’s how to check When a transgender person is conducting bank transactions online, there's little risk the use of their former name will out them to other people, but in-person transactions are a different story, the report continued.
—The Arizona Republic, 14 Apr. 2024
In 2018, Pusha T lyrically outed Drake as having parented a son out of wedlock.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
In 2019, he’d been outed by anti-fascist researchers and the progressive media outlet Right Wing Watch.
—Brandy Zadrozny, NBC News, 3 Apr. 2024
Clark outed Calloway and told police his accomplice destroyed the weapon.
—Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2024
But the city is still a refuge for Bình, who was born in Saigon and worked in a colonial officer’s kitchen before he was outed as gay and forced to leave home.
—Celine Nguyen, The Atlantic, 20 Mar. 2024
The claims came in response to a story by The National Enquirer that shared personal text messages between Sánchez and Bezos, outing their relationship.
—Alexia Fernández, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2024
The final game test was Rainbow Six Extraction below and here the RX 7900 GRE was able to out pace the RTX 4070 Super at all three resolutions, still managing an average frame rate of 97fps at 4K, which matched the RTX 4070 Ti.
—Antony Leather, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
Preposition
Educators can play such a huge role in pulling out the dreams of young people, laying them out in front of them and giving them the options.
—Kristine M. Kierzek, Journal Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2024
Volvo’s carved out a niche for itself among automakers that has stood the test of time.
—Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 19 Apr. 2024
This enduring ballad, whether belted out by Dolly, Whitney or Lorelai Gilmore, will always have the power to move even the strongest among us to tears.
—Shannon Carlin, TIME, 19 Apr. 2024
Advertisement The investment will round out more than a decade of upgrades that have, amid a consumer shift to online shopping, remade the outdoor shopping center into a resort-style destination that can accommodate a mix of interests.
—Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Apr. 2024
The omnipresence of the smartphone, even in conflict zones, means there is always a way to get many vital visuals on a story out.
—Tom Soufi Burridge, ABC News, 7 Apr. 2024
That is the fastest way to get hostages out and aid in, and to stop the fighting and loss of life.
—Mallory Moench, TIME, 7 Apr. 2024
Hold your arm out straight, directly in front of you, and put a finger up in the air.
—Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 7 Apr. 2024
Ruscha’s stains were left by automobiles parked out in the lot — ordinary, figurative images recorded by a cameraman the artist hired at a time when photography was a second-class medium for art.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Zamarripa made history in 2020 not only as the first Latina but also the first out LGBTQ member of the council.
—Alison Dirr, Journal Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2024
Absentee voting would be allowed for disabled people, those age 65 and up, voters living outside the state and are enrolled in an out-of-state college, overseas voters and active military members and their family members.
—Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic, 28 Mar. 2024
She was then asked to verify security information, after which she was informed that someone had been trying to take money out of her account from an out-of-state ATM.
—Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 15 Mar. 2024
In the episode, Buck and other firefighters from Station 118 helped out Captain Strand (Rob Lowe) and his team as an out-of-control wildfire ripped through Texas.
—Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024
Meaning, that in Sarasota, for example, there's a very lively cultural out scene, there are good restaurants, uh, uh, people are really nice.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Feb. 2024
Puk threw two shutout innings in the Marlins’ 7-1 spring training loss to the New York Mets on Tuesday at Clover Park, with his only blemish being a one-out walk to Francisco Alvarez in the first inning.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2024
Playing the recently divorced brother of Jeffrey Wright’s Monk Ellison (who is nominated for best actor), the Emmy winner delivered a nuanced performance in the dramedy as a newly out gay man.
—Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 25 Feb. 2024
After adding in the state and local sales tax, plus the DMV and dealer fees, the out the door and in your garage total purchase price came to: $63,484.
—Tony Leopardo, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2024
Noun
The Royals couldn’t decipher his pitch movement as the outs continued to pile up.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 1 May 2024
Snell recorded the first two outs, then gave up back-to-back singles before Randal Grichuk doubled to score two more and put Arizona ahead, 5-1.
—Jason Mastrodonato, The Mercury News, 20 Apr. 2024
Knack walked Joey Gallo to put two on with two outs but escaped further damage by striking out Nick Senzel with an 85-mph changeup, a whiff that seemed to calm the nerves of Knack, who retired the side in order in the second, third and fourth innings.
—Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Following an out, Ryanne Stephens reached on an infield single to short and Madison Haynes walked to load the bases.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Apr. 2024
Here’s the breakdown of the situation: The Marlins had a runner on first base and two outs in the eighth inning when Schumaker sent pinch-hitter Nick Gordon to face right-handed pitcher Ryan Walker.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
In the second, the Cubs loaded the bases again, this time with two outs.
—Bill Plunkett, Orange County Register, 6 Apr. 2024
The sauces were unveiled during a media preview at KFC’s headquarters in Louisville earlier this week, where Nick Chavez, CMO KFC U.S., spoke about the inspiration behind the menu item’s roll-out.
—The Courier-Journal, 28 Mar. 2024
With still no outs recorded, Jake Cronenworth smacked a two-run triple to the right-field corner, prompting an early mound visit from pitching coach Mark Prior.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near out
Cite this Entry
“Out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/out. Accessed 6 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
out
1 of 6 adverb1
a
: in a direction away from the inside, center, or surface
look out of a window
b
: outdoors entry 1
it's raining out
c
2
: from among others
picked out a hat
3
: away from home, business, or the usual or proper place
out to lunch
left a word out
4
: into a state of loss or defeat
was voted out of office
5
: into the possession or control of another
lent out money
6
: into groups or shares
sorted out her notes
7
a
: so as to be exhausted, completed, or discontinued
the food ran out
the light burned out
b
: at an end
before the week is out
8
a
: in or into the open
the sun came out
b
: aloud
cried out
9
a
: to completion or satisfaction
work the problem out
b
: to the full or a great extent or degree
stretched out on the floor
all decked out
10
: so as to put out or be put out in baseball
the catcher threw the runner out
grounded out to shortstop
out
2 of 6 verb
: to become known
the truth will out
out
3 of 6 preposition(ˌ)au̇t
—used to indicate an outward movement
ran out the door
looked out the window
out
4 of 6 adjectiveˈau̇t
1
a
: located outside or at a distance
the out islands
b
2
: not being in power
the out party
3
: not allowed to continue batting, to occupy a base, or to score in baseball
the runner was out
4
: directed outward or directing something outward
put the letter in the out basket
5
: absent entry 1 sense 1, missing
a basket with its bottom out
6
: no longer in fashion
that style of pants is definitely out
7
: not to be considered
that choice was out as far as we were concerned
8
: determined sense 1
was out to get revenge
9
: engaged in or attempting a particular activity
won on his first time out
out
5 of 6 nounˈau̇t
1
: one who is out of power
2
a
: the putting out of a batter or base runner in baseball
b
: a player who has been put out
3
: a way of escaping from an embarrassing situation or a difficulty
out-
6 of 6 prefix
: in a manner that goes beyond
outmaneuver
Etymology
Prefix
derived from out (adverb)
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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