out
adverb · noun · verb · adjective
Simple meaning
Away from, or at a distance from, some point of reference or focus.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
owtIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈaʊt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adverb
Away from, or at a distance from, some point of reference or focus.
Away from the inside or centre.
Moving or appearing to move away from a place, especially one that is enclosed or hidden
“The cat came out from under the bed.”
Specifically, away from home or one's usual place.
Away from the doer, especially vigorously.
From one's possession
noun
chiefly in the plural
One who, or that which, is out; especially, one who is out of office.
A place or space outside of something; a nook or corner; an angle projecting outward; an open space.
A means of exit, escape, reprieve, etc.
verb
intransitive
To come or go out; to get out or away; to become public, revealed, or apparent.
transitive
To reveal (a person or organization) as having a certain secret, such as a being a secret agent or undercover detective.
Reveal (something) about somebody's identity or lifestyle
“The gay actor was outed last week.”
transitive
To eject; to expel.
To kill; to snuff out.
adjective
Not inside or within a place, especially a place that someone or something was formerly inside or is customarily inside
Not at home, or not at one's office or place of employment.
Not in jail, prison, or captivity; freed from confinement.
Not (or no longer) acceptable or in consideration, play, availability, or operation
of options
No longer acceptable or permissible.
Not allowed to continue to bat or run
“He was tagged out at second on a close play.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Away from, or at a distance from, some point of reference or focus.
Used this way, out is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Moving / specificallyadverb
“The cat came out from under the bed.”
Revealverb
“The gay actor was outed last week.”
Allowedadjective
“He was tagged out at second on a close play.”
More ways to use out
- “The cat came out from under the bed.”adverb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.