out
➊ ADVERB USES
➋ ADJECTIVE AND ADVERB USES
➌ VERB USE
➍ PREPOSITION USES
➊ out ◆◆◆ /aʊ t/ Out is often used with verbs of movement, such as 'walk' and 'pull', and also in phrasal verbs such as 'give out' and 'run out'. 1 ADV [ADV after v] When something is in a particular place and you take it out , you remove it from that place. □ Carefully pull out the centre pages. □ He took out his notebook and flipped the pages. □ They paid in that cheque a couple of days ago, and drew out around two thousand in cash.
2 ADV [ADV after v] You can use out to indicate that you are talking about the situation outside, rather than inside buildings. □ It's hot out–very hot, very humid.
3 ADV [be ADV , ADV after v] If you are out , you are not at home or not at your usual place of work. □ I tried to get in touch with you yesterday evening, but I think you were out. □ She had to go out.
4 ADV [ADV adv/prep] If you say that someone is out in a particular place, you mean that they are in a different place, usually one far away. □ The police tell me they've finished their investigations out there. □ When he's not filming out east, Allen lives in the Cotswolds.
5 ADV [ADV after v, be ADV ] When the sea or tide goes out , the sea moves away from the shore. □ The tide was out and they walked among the rock pools.
6 ADV [ADV n] If you are out a particular amount of money, you have that amount less than you should or than you did. [mainly AM ] □ Me and my friends are out ten thousand dollars, with nothing to show for it!
➋ out ◆◆◆ /aʊ t/
1 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If a light or fire is out or goes out , it is no longer shining or burning. □ All the lights were out in the house. □ Several of the lights went out, one after another.
2 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If flowers are out , their petals have opened. □ Well, the daffodils are out in the gardens and they're always a beautiful show. ● ADV [ADV after v] Out is also an adverb. □ I usually put it in my diary when I see the wild flowers coming out.
3 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If something such as a book or CD is out , it is available for people to buy. □ …cover versions of 40 British Number Ones–out now. ● ADV [ADV after v] Out is also an adverb. □ The French edition came out in early 1992.
4 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If workers are out , they are on strike. [INFORMAL ] □ We've been out for two and a half months. ● ADV [ADV after v] Out is also an adverb. □ In June last year, 26 people came out on strike protesting against a compulsory 65-hour week.
5 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] In a game or sport, if someone is out , they can no longer take part either because they are unable to or because they have been defeated.
6 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] In baseball, a player is out if they do not reach a base safely. When three players in a team are out in an inning, then the team is out .
7 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If you say that a proposal or suggestion is out , you mean that it is unacceptable. □ That's right out, I'm afraid.
8 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If you say that a particular thing is out , you mean that it is no longer fashionable at the present time. □ Romance is making a comeback. Reality is out.
9 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If you say that a calculation or measurement is out , you mean that it is incorrect. □ When the two ends of the tunnel met in the middle they were only a few inches out.
10 ADJ If someone is out to do something, they intend to do it. [INFORMAL ] □ Most companies these days are just out to make a quick profit.
➌ out /aʊ t/ (outs , outing , outed ) VERB If a group of people out a public figure or famous person, they reveal that person's homosexuality against their wishes. □ [V n] A New York gay action group recently outed an American Congressman. ● out|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ The gay and lesbian rights group, Stonewall, sees outing as completely unhelpful.
➍ out ◆◆◆ Out of is used with verbs of movement, such as 'walk' and 'pull', and also in phrasal verbs such as 'do out of' and 'grow out of'. In American English and informal British English, out is often used instead of out of .
1 PHRASE If you go out of a place, you leave it. □ She let him out of the house.
2 PHRASE If you take something out of the container or place where it has been, you remove it so that it is no longer there. □ I always took my key out of my bag and put it in my pocket.
3 PHRASE If you look or shout out of a window, you look or shout away from the room where you are towards the outside. □ He went on staring out of the window. □ He looked out the window at the car on the street below.
4 PHRASE If you are out of the sun, the rain, or the wind, you are sheltered from it. □ People can keep out of the sun to avoid skin cancer.
5 PHRASE If someone or something gets out of a situation, especially an unpleasant one, they are then no longer in it. If they keep out of it, they do not start being in it. □ In the past army troops have relied heavily on air support to get them out of trouble. □ The economy is starting to climb out of recession.