6 PHRASE You can use out of to say that someone leaves an institution. □ You come out of university and find there are no jobs available. □ Doctors should be able to decide who they can safely let out of hospital early.
7 PHRASE If you are out of range of something, you are beyond the limits of that range. □ Shaun was in the bedroom, out of earshot, watching television. □ He turned to look back, but by then she was out of sight.
8 PHRASE You use out of to say what feeling or reason causes someone to do something. For example, if you do something out of pity, you do it because you pity someone. □ He took up office out of a sense of duty.
9 PHRASE If you get something such as information or work out of someone, you manage to make them give it to you, usually when they are unwilling to give it. □ 'Where is she being held prisoner?' I asked. 'Did you get it out of him?'. □ We knew we could get better work out of them.
10 PHRASE If you get pleasure or an advantage out of something, you get it as a result of being involved with that thing or making use of it. □ We all had a lot of fun out of him. □ To get the most out of your money, you have to invest.
11 PHRASE If you are out of something, you no longer have any of it. □ I can't find the sugar–and we're out of milk.
12 PHRASE If something is made out of a particular material, it consists of that material because it has been formed or constructed from it. □ Would you advise people to make a building out of wood or stone?
13 PHRASE You use out of to indicate what proportion of a group of things something is true of. For example, if something is true of one out of five things, it is true of one fifth of all things of that kind. □ Two out of five thought the business would be sold privately on their retirement or death.
PREFIX out-
You can use out- to form verbs that describe an action as being done better by one person than by another. For example, if you can outswim someone, you can swim further or faster than they can.
out|age /aʊ t I dʒ/ (outages ) N‑COUNT An outage is a period of time when the electricity supply to a building or area is interrupted, for example because of damage to the cables. [AM ] □ A windstorm in Washington is causing power outages throughout the region. in BRIT, use power cut
ou t-and-ou t ADJ [ADJ n] You use out-and-out to emphasize that someone or something has all the characteristics of a particular type of person or thing. [EMPHASIS ] □ Much of what has been written about us is out-and-out lies.
out|back /aʊ tbæk/ N‑SING The parts of Australia that are far away from towns are referred to as the outback .
out|bid /aʊ tb I d/ (outbids , outbidding ) The form outbid is used in the present tense and is the past tense and past participle. VERB If you outbid someone, you offer more money than they do for something that you both want to buy. □ [V n] The Museum has antagonised rivals by outbidding them for the world's greatest art treasures.
out|board /aʊ tbɔː r d/ ADJ [ADJ n] An outboard motor is one that you can fix to the back of a small boat.
out|bound /aʊ tbaʊnd/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] An outbound flight is one that is leaving or about to leave a particular place.
out|box /aʊ tbɒks/ (outboxes ) N‑COUNT An outbox is a folder on a computer or phone where emails that are waiting to be sent are stored. [COMPUTING ] □ If there is no signal it will just sit in my outbox until I resend it.
out|break /aʊ tbre I k/ (outbreaks ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] If there is an outbreak of something unpleasant, such as violence or a disease, it suddenly starts to happen. □ [+ of ] At the outbreak of war, he enlisted as a private. □ The cholera outbreak continued to spread.
out|build|ing /aʊ tb I ld I ŋ/ (outbuildings ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] Outbuildings are small buildings for keeping things in or working in which are near a house, on the land belonging to it.
out|burst /aʊ tbɜː r st/ (outbursts )
1 N‑COUNT An outburst of an emotion, especially anger, is a sudden strong expression of that emotion. □ [+ of ] …a spontaneous outburst of cheers and applause. □ [+ against ] There has been another angry outburst against the new local tax introduced today.
2 N‑COUNT An outburst of violent activity is a sudden period of this activity. □ [+ of ] Five people were reported killed today in a fresh outburst of violence. □ [+ of ] …this first great outburst of nationalist student protest.
out|cast /aʊ tkɑːst, -kæst/ (outcasts ) N‑COUNT An outcast is someone who is not accepted by a group of people or by society. □ He had always been an outcast, unwanted and alone.
out|class /aʊ tklɑː s, -klæ s/ (outclasses , outclassing , outclassed )
1 VERB If you are outclassed by someone, they are a lot better than you are at a particular activity. □ [be V -ed] The hotel is serviceable, but outclassed by its bistro. □ [V n] Few city hotels can outclass the Hotel de Crillon.
2 VERB If one thing outclasses another thing, the first thing is of a much higher quality than the second thing. □ [be V -ed] These planes are outclassed by the most recent designs. □ [V n] The story outclasses anything written by Frederick Forsyth.
out|come ◆◇◇ /aʊ tkʌm/ (outcomes ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] The outcome of an activity, process, or situation is the situation that exists at the end of it. □ Mr. Singh said he was pleased with the outcome. □ [+ of ] It's too early to know the outcome of her illness. COLLOCATIONS outcome NOUN 1