down-and-out 1 of 2

adjective

ˈdau̇n-ən(d)-ˈau̇t How to pronounce down-and-out (audio)
Definition of down-and-outnext
1
as in weak
lacking bodily strength I'm over the flu, but I still feel down-and-out

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions a soup kitchen where the down-and-out daily line up for a hot meal

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

down-and-out

2 of 2

noun

variants or down-and-outer
as in have-not

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of down-and-out
Adjective
The once down-and-out chipmaker continues to fire on all cylinders under Lip Bu Tan, who has only been CEO for 13 months. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 24 Apr. 2026 The rather down-and-out-looking fellow in front of me was buying a handful of lottery tickets. — Jim Nowlan, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2026 The first pictures McCullin took were of hoodlums and down-and-outs, subjects that reflected his own hardscrabble background. — Andrew Pulver, Air Mail, 31 Jan. 2026 While the aggressively noirish script (by Kubrick and his friend Howard Sackler, who had also written Fear and Desire) about a down-and-out boxer who falls for a gangster’s moll sometimes comes off like a parody, Kubrick is clearly coming into his own here as an artist. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 31 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for down-and-out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for down-and-out
  1. weak
  2. impoverished
  3. have-not
  4. weakened
  5. poor
  6. indigent
  7. feeble
  8. pauper
Adjective
  • The heat has caused a fall in nuclear generation, with power plants forced to shut down or reduce production across the region, while wind power generation has been weak over the summer.
    — Jenni Reid, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The state financial watchdog attributed the disbursement problems to administrative delays, weak project management, and late counterpart funding from the Congolese government.
    — Ruben Nyanguila, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of weak
Adjective
  • About one-fifth of Florida’s impoverished elderly people live in the county, state records show.
    — Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Behind the scenes, this gritty, impoverished circus company wrestles with violence, illness and animal cruelty.
    — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of impoverished
Noun
  • Historically in Chicago, parent fundraising has been a story of have versus have-not schools, a dynamic threatening to drive deeper inequity in a segregated district.
    — Mila Koumpilova, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2026
  • Often, football is described as a game of haves and have-nots.
    — Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 11 June 2026
Definition of have-not
Adjective
  • The bacteria can cause illnesses that could be fatal for children younger than 5, elderly people or people with weakened or compromised immune systems.
    — Julia Gomez, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026
  • However, Alt was limited to just six games after dealing with multiple ankle injuries, leaving the Chargers' offensive line in a weakened state.
    — Ryan Canfield OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of weakened
Adjective
  • The petition argues Mays’ language during the trial revealed something deeper than a poor defense strategy — a worldview that dehumanized the man he was supposed to defend.
    — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
  • There remains work to be done, as evidenced by their poor showing in last Thursday’s 41-17 preseason loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
    — Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of poor
Noun
  • Lower than proletariat workers, the lumpenproletariat includes the indigent and the unemployable, those cast out of the workforce with no recourse, or those who can’t enter it in the first place, such as young workers in times of economic depression.
    — Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2025
Definition of indigent
Adjective
  • Instead of using a mirror to gather starlight, MOTHRA has many telephoto lenses, like those on a camera, which can capture faintly glowing wisps of gas and other feeble emanations across a wider field of view.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 12 Aug. 2026
  • By an act of war, committed with the participation of a diplomatic representative of the United States and without authority of Congress, the Government of a feeble but friendly and confiding people has been overthrown.
    — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of feeble
Noun
  • After Blake Street Cemetery stopped accepting new burials in 1931, New Haven began relying on another paupers’ cemetery located on Woodin Street.
    — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 20 July 2026
  • That honest job has, across four generations, fed prime ministers and paupers, cooked for the King and Queen, and quietly funded a one-man legal aid service for survivors of abuse.
    — Afdhel Aziz, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of pauper

Browse Nearby Words

down and dirty
down-and-out
down-and-outs
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Cite this Entry

“Down-and-out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/down-and-out. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

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