rule out

verb

ruled out; ruling out; rules out

transitive verb

1

: exclude, eliminate

They were ruled out as candidates for the job.

2

: to make impossible : prevent

Heavy rain ruled out the picnic.

Synonyms of rule out

• exclude
• ban
• bar
• eliminate
• shut out
• freeze out
• prevent
• prohibit

Examples of rule out in a Sentence

another loss would rule them out of the tournament

Recent Examples on the Web

Trump also ruled out extending the 60-day ceasefire agreement, which expired Monday, after the deal effectively fell apart. — Jenni Reid,emma Graham, CNBC, 19 Aug. 2026

Summary OpenAI disclosed a two-week pause in reinforcement learning training after an unreleased model called Astra could not be ruled out as reaching Critical, the highest cybersecurity risk tier in its Preparedness Framework. — Ashish Bhatia, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2026

In a statement, the district attorney’s office didn’t rule out the unorthodox move and called on more witnesses in the case to come forward. — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026

Large hail and damaging winds are the most likely hazards, the weather service said, though a tornado or two can’t be ruled out. — Kansas City Star, 18 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1658, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for rule out

• roundabout
• runabout
• sauerkraut
• thereabout
• turnabout
• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout

Kids Definition

rule out

verb

: to eliminate the possibility of