out
• adverb 1 moving away from a place, especially from one that is enclosed to one that is open. 2 away from one’s usual base or residence. 3 outdoors. 4 so as to be revealed, heard, or known. 5 at or to an end: the romance fizzled out. 6 at a specified distance away from the target. 7 to sea, away from the land. 8 (of the tide) falling or at its lowest level. 9 no longer in prison. • preposition non-standard contraction of out of. • adjective 1 not at home or one’s place of work. 2 in existence, use, or the public domain. 3 open about one’s homosexuality. 4 not possible or worth considering. 5 no longer existing, current, or prevalent. 6 unconscious. 7 mistaken. 8 (of the ball in tennis, squash, etc.) outside the playing area. 9 Cricket & Baseball no longer batting. • verb informal reveal the homosexuality of. — PHRASES out and about engaging in normal activity after an illness. out for intent on having. out of 1 from. 2 not having (something). out of it informal 1 not included. 2 unaware of what is happening. out to do keenly striving to do. out with it say what you are thinking. — USAGE It is better to write out of rather than simply out in constructions such as he threw it out of the window. — ORIGIN Old English.
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