out / out/ • adv. 1. moving or appearing to move away from a particular place, esp. one that is enclosed or hidden: he walked out into the street watch the stars come out. ∎  situated or operating in the open air, not in buildings: the search-and-rescue team have been out looking for you. ∎  no longer detained in custody or in jail: they would be out on bail in no time.2. away from one's usual base or residence: the team had put on a marvelous display out in Georgia. ∎  in a public place for purposes of pleasure or entertainment: an evening out at a restaurant.3. to sea, away from the land: the fleet put out from Cyprus. ∎  (of the tide) falling or at its lowest level: the tide was going out.4. indicating a specified distance away from the goal line or finishing line: he scored from 70 meters out.5. so as to be revealed or known: find out what you can. ∎  aloud; so as to be heard: Miss Beard cried out in horror.6. at or to an end: the romance fizzled out. ∎  so as to be finished or complete: I'll leave them to fight it out I typed out the poem. ∎  (in various other completive uses): the crowd had thinned out he crossed out a word.7. (of a light or fire) so as to be extinguished or no longer burning: at ten o'clock the lights went out. ∎  (of a stain or mark) no longer visible; removed: try to get the stain out.8. (of a party, politician, etc.) not in office.9. (of a jury) considering its verdict in secrecy.• prep. through to the outside: he ran out the door.• adj. 1. not at home or at one's place of work: if he called, she'd pretend to be out.2. revealed or made public: the secret was soon out. ∎  (of a flower) in bloom; open. ∎  published: the book should be out before the end of the month. ∎ inf. in existence or in use: it works as well as any system that's out. ∎  not concealing one's homosexuality: I had been out since I was seventeen.3. no longer alight; extingished: the fire was nearly out.4. at an end: school was out for the summer. ∎ inf. no longer in fashion: life in the fast lane is out.5. not possible or worth considering: a trip to the seaside is out.6. in a state of unconsciousness. ∎  Boxing unable to rise before the count of ten.7. mistaken; in error: he was slightly out in his calculations.8. (of the ball in tennis and similar games) outside the designated playing area.9. Baseball & Cricket no longer batting or on base, having had one's turn ended by the team in the field: the Yankees are out in the ninth Johnson was out at second.• n. 1. inf. a way of escaping from a problem or dilemma: he was desperately looking for an out.2. Baseball an act of putting a player out. ∎  (of a batter or base runner) a play ending in being put out.3. (the outs) the political party or politicians not in office.• v. 1. [intr.] come or go out; emerge: the truth will out.2. [tr.] inf. reveal the homosexuality of (a prominent person).PHRASES: on the outs in disagreement or dispute: on the outs with established political trends.out and about (of a person, esp. after inactivity) engaging in normal activity.out for intent on having: he was out for a good time.out of1. moving or situated away from (a place, typically one that is enclosed or hidden): he came out of prison. ∎  situated a specified distance from (a place): they lived eight miles out of town. ∎  taken or appearing to be taken from (a particular type of writing, genre, or artistic performance): a romance straight out of a fairy tale. ∎  eliminated from (a competition): knocked out of the tournament.2. spoken by: still not a word out of Pearsall.3. using (a particular thing) as raw material: a bench fashioned out of a fallen tree trunk. ∎  using (a particular thing) as a source of some benefit: you should not expect too much out of life. ∎  having (the thing mentioned) as a motivation: she did it out of spite. ∎  indicating the dam of a pedigree animal, esp. a horse.4. from among (a number): nine times out of ten.5. not having (a particular thing): they had run out of cash.out of it inf. 1. not included; rejected: I hate feeling out of it.2. unaware of what is happening as a result of being uninformed. ∎  unable to think or react properly as a result of being drowsy.out to keenly striving to: they were out to impress.out with an exhortation to expel or dismiss (an unwanted person or thing).out with it [as imper.] say what you are thinking.ORIGIN: Old English ūt (adverb), ūtian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch uit and German aus.