1
as in weak
lacking bodily strength
I'm over the flu, but I still feel down-and-out
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
variants
or down-and-outer
as in have-not
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of down-and-out
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
Kupferer’s real-life mother, the splendid Tara Mallen, plays her seemingly down-and-out mom in Mouse.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 13 Feb. 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
Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs — Coming off their first loss since September, the Broncos get a down-and-out Chiefs team playing its third-string quarterback.
—Jim Reineking, USA Today, 25 Dec. 2025
The feature is based on the 2018 documentary of the same name that told the story of a down-and-out fighter who becomes involved with one of the country’s top youth boxing programs.
—Aaron Couch, HollywoodReporter, 25 Nov. 2025
Shroud killed Robert’s dad and now the down-and-out hero is on the warpath.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 22 Oct. 2025
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
Kupferer’s real-life mother, the splendid Tara Mallen, plays her seemingly down-and-out mom in Mouse.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 13 Feb. 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
Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs — Coming off their first loss since September, the Broncos get a down-and-out Chiefs team playing its third-string quarterback.
—Jim Reineking, USA Today, 25 Dec. 2025
The feature is based on the 2018 documentary of the same name that told the story of a down-and-out fighter who becomes involved with one of the country’s top youth boxing programs.
—Aaron Couch, HollywoodReporter, 25 Nov. 2025
Shroud killed Robert’s dad and now the down-and-out hero is on the warpath.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 22 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for down-and-out
Adjective
-
Free agency is weak, so the best bet will be the trade market.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
The original vision of the Accords – of a rapidly expanding regional bloc openly aligned with Israel and integrated economically across the Middle East – has become a significantly weaker prospect.—
Chas Newkey-Burden,
TheWeek,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
The play’s focus is resolutely on the impoverished rural family of women who fall under this ambitious bluesman’s influence in the rural Georgia of the 1930s, writes Chris Jones.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
13 May 2026
-
This model is much less appealing to the impoverished governments, which sometimes struggle to pay their own troops.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
With fewer homes available for median earners, today's housing market is widening the gap between the haves and have-nots, with younger Americans less likely to buy a home, the study says.—
Mike Winters,
CNBC,
21 Aug. 2025
-
Based on the video game from Bethesda Game Studios, Fallout is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
18 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
While most healthy people can recover in four to seven days without treatment, some vulnerable groups, like children under 5, adults 65 and older, and those with weakened immune systems, may experience more severe illness that requires medical treatment or hospitalization.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
12 May 2026
-
The illness primarily affects older adults, people with weakened immune systems and pregnant women and their newborns, but can in some cases affect people outside of these groups, per FSIS.—
Chiara Kim,
PEOPLE,
11 May 2026
Adjective
-
Harper opened a small dance studio, on Forty-sixth Street; business was poor until Bradley was hired and revamped Delroy’s act.—
Brian Seibert,
New Yorker,
13 May 2026
-
Still vehicle electronics can be damaged from reverse polarity, poor or wrong connection points or voltage spikes from improper equipment.—
Hartford Courant,
Hartford Courant,
12 May 2026
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
Adjective
-
So, in retrospect, [the entire Lightning project] looked pretty feeble.—
Jamie Lincoln Kitman,
Rolling Stone,
24 Apr. 2026
-
His visit also comes as the committee stalls on advancing Casey Means, Kennedy’s nominee for surgeon general, over her lack of medical practice experience and feeble answers on the importance of vaccination.—
Daniel Payne,
STAT,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Titanic is still a subject of worldwide fascination, in part because of the range of passengers aboard the ship, from paupers to plutocrats.—
Jill Lawless,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Apr. 2026
-
The Titanic is still a subject of worldwide fascination, in part because of the range of passengers aboard the ship, from paupers to plutocrats.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
18 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Down-and-out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/down-and-out. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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