▪ I. out, adv.
(aʊt)
Forms: 1 {uacu}t, 2–4 ut, (3 hut, hout, 4–5 ouȝt, 4–6 oute, owte, 5–7 ought, owȝt), 4–7 owt, (6 owtt(e), 3– out, (9 Sc. and north. dial. oot).
[Com. Teut.: OE. {uacu}t = OFris., OS. ût (MDu. uut, MLG. ût, Du. uit, LG. ut), OHG. ûȥ (MHG. ûȥ, Ger. aus), ON. {uacu}t (Sw. ut, Da. ud), Goth. ût = Skr. ud- verbal prefix ‘out’. Orig. only an adv., but in OHG. sometimes, in MHG. oftener, and in Ger., Du., Fris. regularly, a preposition also. In Eng., out prep. (q.v.) is exceptional, and felt as elliptical; the prepositional sense = L. ex, Gr. ἐξ, ἐκ, is regularly expressed by adding of, = OE. {uacu}t of, OS. ût af, Sw. ut af, Da. ud af.
out of prep. phr., on account of its syntactic unity, and its importance as a preposition, is in this Dictionary treated as a Main word. Out is also followed by from, but in out from the two words remain notionally distinct, as in away from, down from, up from: see from prep. 1.]
I. Of motion or direction.
* simply.
1. a. Expressing motion or direction from within a space, or from a point considered as a centre.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxv. §5 Ic ne mæᵹ ut aredian. c 893 ― Oros. i. i. §3 Seo ea..wið eastan ut on þa sæ floweð. c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iii. viii. [x.] (1890) 180 Þa fluᵹon heo forhte ut. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 222 Ateon ut þa horhestan wætan. 1140–54 O.E. Chron. an. 1140 Þat me sculde leten ut þe king of prisun for þe eorl. c 1205 Lay. 26533 Sone his sweord he ut abræid. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3124 Ȝet ic sal pharaon, Or ȝe gon vt, don an wreche on. 13.. Cursor M. 993 (Cott.) Out [so F., Tr.; Gött. vte] es put sua wreched adam. 1340 Ayenb. 150 Þes yefþe..bestrepþ and kest out þe rote and þe zenne of ire. 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 352 The blud owt at thar byrnys brest. 1382 Wyclif Matt. viii. 12 Forsothe the sonys of the rewme shulen be cast out in to vttremest derknessis. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxix. 132 So sall þai fynd þe passage oute. 1486 Bk. St. Albans A iij, Wringe the waater owte. 1535 Coverdale Exod. x. 6 And he turned him, & wente out from Pharao. 1551 Bible Matt. viii. 12 The children of the kyngedome shalbe caste oute into vtter darcknes. 1568 Grafton Chron. I. 185 None so hardy to looke out into the streetes. 1637 Shirley Gamester iv, I'll pour it out. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. ii, I..ordered a boat out. 1789 Hist. in Ann. Reg. 18 Conciliatory expressions were..thrown out towards the close of the speech. 1854 E. B. Hamley in A. I. Shand Life (1895) I. iv. 74 General Adams' horse struck out and kicked me on the shin. 1871 Morley Crit. Misc. Ser. i. Carlyle (1878) 175 Here was, indeed, not a way out, but a way of erect living within. |
b. From within doors, into the open air.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John xviii. 29 Þa eode pilatus ut to him. c 1205 Lay. 19763 And ut wenden [c 1275 hout eode] bi-nihte. c 1350 Will. Palerne 3068, & bi a priue posterne passad ouȝt er daie. 1382 Wyclif Matt. xi. 9 But what thing wente ȝe out for to seen? 1776 Trial of Nundocomar 23/1 If he had been so ill as not to be able to come out. 1870 E. Peacock Ralf Skirl. III. 139 [They] asked him to go out with them for a ride. Mod. He seldom goes out in this weather. |
c. From home or ordinary home life to an expedition, to the field (of fight or the chase). to set out, to start on an expedition or journey: see set. to call one out (see call v. 32 c), come out, have one out, i.e. to a duel.
| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 126 There are other men fitter to goe out, then I. 1613 ― Hen. VIII, ii. ii. 5 When they were ready to set out for London. 1655 Stanley Hist. Philos. iii. (1701) 85/2 His Life being wholly spent at home, saving when he went out in Military Service. 1829 Hood Eugene Aram xxxvi, Two stern-faced men set out from Lynn. 1855 Smedley H. Coverdale iii, If he feels aggrieved, he can have you out (not that I admire duelling). 1869 Tennyson Holy Grail 719 Those that had gone out upon the Quest. 1870, 1890 [see go v. 87 c]. |
d. Of a river: From its channel, beyond its banks.
| 1854 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XV. i. 221 A good rain is sure to send the waters out. |
e. From among others; from one's company or surroundings.
See also under choose, hunt, search, seek vbs.
| 1297 [see choose v. 11]. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. ii. 276 Ek of the yonge out trie Oon heer, oon theer. c 1425 Eng. Conq. Irel. 34 Þerfor out chese one of two. c 1530 tr. Erasmus' Serm. Ch. Jesus (1901) 11 The aungels appoynted out to protecte and defende vs. 1581 Mulcaster Positions xxxvii. (1887) 149 Choise is a great prince,..and culs owt the best. 1589 Acts Privy Council (1898) XVII. 427 For the bolting out of the truth thereof. a 1649 Winthrop Hist. New Eng. (1853) I. 420, I desire to hear..whether you have inquired out a chamber for me. 1866 Trevelyan in Macm. Mag. Mar. 416 Magistrates would choose out the most active and fierce of the young citizens. Mod. I will look out a book for her. |
f. From one's own hands or actual occupation; into the hands or occupation of another.
See also under hire, lay, lend, let, put, etc.
| 1449– [see lay v.1 56 c]. 1526 [see let v.1 37 f]. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 252 b, Howe they had..geven out their monie for interest. 1589– [see hire v. 3]. 1609 Dekker Gull's Horne-bk. (1812) 129 He shall..put out money upon his return. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia ix. x, I mean to put my whole estate out to nurse. |
g. From a stock or store into the hands or possession of many; into portions or parts: implying distribution and division. Esp. with deal, dole, cantle, parcel, portion, serve, share, and the like.
| 1535– [see deal v. 4 b]. 1583–1674 [see cantle v. 2]. 1652–62 Heylin Cosmogr. ii. (1682) 39 The great Empire of his Father was parcelled out into members. c 1680 Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 406 As if the universe was to be parcell'd out among many. 1741–62 [see dole v. 1, 2]. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxvii. 91 Our guns were loaded..cartridges served out, matches lighted. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 137 The design of again confiscating and again portioning out the soil of half the island. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) II. vii. 52 England was now portioned out among a few Earls. |
h. Out may be added to a vb. trans. or intr. with the sense of driving, putting, or getting out, with or by means of the action in question, e.g. to bow, crowd, din, drum, hiss, hoot, ring, smoke (a person, etc.) out. See the verbs.
2. Away from some recognized place; from the land (as the place inhabited by men); from the shore, into the sea or ocean; from one's own country, to the colonies or distant lands; away, to a distance.
| a 1123 O.E. Chron. an. 1101 Se cyng..scipa ut on sæ sende. 1672 C. Manners in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 25 Our Navy puts out again to sea stronger than at first. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 174 ¶5 The Freight and Assurance out and home. 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 113 Let us take a walk in the fields a little out from the houses. 1850 Tait's Mag. XVII. 466/1 An offer..to go out to Australia. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. 131 They are carried by the river right out to sea. Mod. Missionaries going out to India and China. Troops were sent out from the mother country. He met interesting people on the voyage out. |
3. a. So as to project or extend beyond the general surface or limits; as in to hang out, jut out, shoot out, or stick out. to hold out: see hold v. 41.
| 1535 [see hold v. 41 a]. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 134 b, So that it bossed out and frounced very stately to behold. 1658 J. Jones Ovid's Ibis 67 A sharp clift shuts [= shoots] out like a woman. 1796 Hist. in Ann. Reg. 77 The French..held out language promissory of equitable conditions. 1896 N. & Q. 8th Ser. IX. 160/1 The room..built out to serve as a library and residence for Coleridge. |
b. Expressing extension or prolongation (in space or time), as in to beat out, draw out, open out, stretch out.
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 198 Stretche out þin hond. 1483, 1553 [see draw v. 87 c, d]. 1596– [see eke v. 3]. 1608 Willet Hexapla Exod. 718 The sabbathes holding out the whole day. 1632 Milton L'Allegro 111 The Lubbar Fend..stretch'd out all the Chimney's length. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 27 The soul may be every where, where the body is stretched out. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) II. 200 To lengthen out the period of life. 1806 Hutton Course Math. I. 286 When every Side of any Figure is produced out, the Sum of all the Outward Angles thereby made, is equal to Four Right Angles. 1841–93 [see draw v. 87 c, d]. |
c. from this out: henceforth, from now on; also from here (on) out, from that out. colloq. (chiefly U.S. and Anglo-Irish).
| 1867 F. A. Buck Lett. (1930) 214 Now, I am going to try to be a Jew from this out. 1882 W. D. Howells Mod. Instance in Century Mag. Apr. 925/1 I'll take a back seat from this out. 1899 W. B. Yeats Let. 28 Nov. (1954) 330, I imagine I am about the only person who belongs to the orderly world she is likely to meet from this out. She seems to be perfectly mad. 1905 H. Corkran Lucie & I 36 From this out I will think of you as a young diablesse. 1907 J. J. Horgan Great Catholic Laymen (ed. 2) i. 37 Napoleon was then at the height of his power. From that out his Empire began to decline. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 432 Mrs Marion from this out, my dear man, when you speak to me. 1941 in H. Wentworth Amer. Dial. Dict. (1944) 434/1 He has run the race and is fairly entitled to sit on the sidelines from here out. 1942 Ibid., Bob Maslow's at the controls from here on out. 1972 A. Friedman in Cox & Dyson 20th-Cent. Mind. I. xii. 420 There are symbolic signs everywhere that Charlotte's and Adam's lives from here on out will be lives of protracted emptiness and captive anguish. |
** in pregnant and transferred uses.
4. a. Expressing removal from its proper place or from its position when in. See put out.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. iv. v. §2 Þa sticode him mon þa eaᵹan ut. 1382 Wyclif Jer. lii. 11 The eȝen of Sedechie he putte out. c 1400 [see cut v. 57 a]. 1611 [see break v. 55 a]. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage 273 [The book] was after by the Iewes altered, putting out and in at their pleasure. 1840 Thackeray Catherine xi, Mr. Wood sat near, laughing his sides out. Mod. He has had his shoulder put out at football. |
b. From a post or office.
| 1746 H. Walpole Let. to H. Mann 14 Feb., The triumphant party are not at all in the humour to be turned out. 1853 Lytton My Novel ix. iv, It does not seem to me possible..that you and your party should ever go out. Mod. The seat was contested at the last election, and the former member was turned out. |
c. In Cricket, etc. From being batsman. (See 19 c in II.)
| 1755 Game at Cricket 8 Though..the Player be bowl'd out. 1772 in Waghorn Cricket Scores (1899) 85 note, Those marked thus * were off their ground; † run out; {ddag} catched out; § bowled out. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) iii. ix, Bowled out at the first ball. 1836 in ‘Bat’ Crick. Mem. (1850) 100 All attempts to get him out were futile. 1843 Blackw. Mag. LIV. 171 They put our men out pretty fast. Hanmer got..run out after a splendid hit. |
5. a. From one's normal or equable state of mind, or ordinary course of action; into confusion, perplexity, or disturbance of feeling. See put out.
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 172 They do not marke me, and that brings me out. 1600 ― A.Y.L. iii. ii. 265 You bring me out. 1875 Kinglake Crimea (1877) V. i. 266 He..was ‘thrown out’. 1887 A. Birrell Obiter Dicta Ser. ii. 282 Neither he nor any other sensible man puts himself out about new books. |
b. From one's harmonious relations; into unfriendliness or quarrelling. See also fall out.
| 1530 [see fall v. 94 e]. 1637 Shirley Gamester 1, Wine made them fall out. 1822 Hazlitt Table-t. II. vii. 148 Friends not unfrequently fall out and never meet again for some idle misunderstanding. |
6. a. So as to be no longer alight or burning; into darkness or extinction; as to do out, go out, or put out.
| c 1400 [see go v. 87 d]. c 1440 Gesta Rom. i. xviii. 64 (Harl. MS.) And doth oute the fire. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI 99 b, When the greate fire of this discencion..was..utterly quenched out. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 119 Fyngereth the candell, putteth it out. 1679 Hist. Jetzer 12 Putting out a Candle which remain'd..lighted. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 265 ¶9 A Candle goes half out in the Light of the Sun. 1840 Marryat Poor Jack xxiii, He snuffed it out. |
b. From being in existence or activity; from being in currency or in vogue; into extinction; as to die out, give out, go out, kill out.
| 1523– [see give v. 62 e]. 1650 W. Brough Schism 556 Will you give out for a lesser time of tryal? 1821 Examiner 803/2 The charge is now falsified..and decidedly going out. 1871 Smiles Charac. i. (1876) 29 The nations that are idle and luxurious..must inevitably die out. 1878 J. R. O'Flanagan Irish Bar (1879) 422 Possibly, if Davis had lived longer, the politician might have killed out the poet. |
7. a. To the conclusion or finish; to an end, and so either to completion or to exhaustion.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 14507 (Cott.) Biscops war þai þan a-bute, Ilkan bot his tueluemoth vte [so G.; Tr. oute, Laud owte]. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. (E.E.T.S.) 3459 Or this x ȝere go fully out. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 241 The trewes commeth oute at October nexte. 1668 Davenant Man's the Master v. i, Perhaps, I may have patience to hear you out. 1722 Quincy Lex. Physico-Med. (ed. 2) 2 When a Woman goes not her full time out with Child. 1746 in Waghorn Cricket Scores (1899) 37 The match to be played out. 1817 Keats Sonn. Grasshopper & Cricket, Tired out with fun. 1886 Sir J. Stirling in Law Times Rep. LV. 284/1 The case has not been tried out. |
b. With intrans. vb., forming a compound trans. vb., as to fight it out, talk it out. Also, to have it out, to bring it to a finish or settlement; also with other objects; also, to discuss fully or reveal (a matter); to settle (a dispute or misunderstanding) with someone.
| 1535 Coverdale Ps. lv. 23 The bloudthurstie and disceatfull shal not lyue out half their daies. 1586 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. (1589) 383 If in the mean time he feast it out. 1601 Holland Pliny xxxiii. xxiv, Fencers trying it out with unrebated swords. 1601 Shakes. All's Well v. iii. 66 While shamefull hate sleepes out the afternoone. 1650 Trapp Comm. Deut. xxix. 19 As it were to cross God, and to try it out with him. 1764 S. Johnson 22 May in Philobiblon Soc. VI. 38 You will hardly be quite at ease till you have talked yourself out. 1811 Jane Austen Sense & Sens. II. viii. 129 She had better have her cry out at once and have done with it. 1825 H. Wilson Mem. I. 77 O let us have it all out now, and have done with it. 1839 Dickens Nich. Nick. xxxi. 305, I shall double-lock myself in with him and have it out before I die. 1847 J. A. Froude Shadows of Clouds iv. 52 The result was the advice which best harmonized with the suggestion of his own heart, to go off at once to Morlands, have it all out with Emma, and put his father's letter into Mr. Hardinge's hands. 1859 Trollope Bertrams (1867) 21, I shall have the matter out with him now. 1873 Browning Red Cott. Nt.-cap 382 Suppose we have it out Here in the fields, decide the question so? 1880 Trollope Duke's Children II. xi. 126 Let us have this out, Mabel, before we go. 1884 G. Moore Mummer's Wife (1887) 217 Leave her to have her cry out. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. III. xc. 247 The best thing was to let him talk himself out. 1932 E. Bowen To North xxvi. 385 You must have this out with Emmeline, find how she stands with this young man and..strongly discourage the whole affair. 1959 H. Hamilton Answer in Negative x. 118, I was trying to decide whether I ought to leave it alone or have it out with him. 1971 Where Dec. 361/1 We eventually went to the LEA and saw an assistant education officer who agreed that we should meet the head and the doctor and have the whole thing out. |
c. To a full end, completely, quite, outright. See also all out.
| c 1300 Beket (Percy Soc.) 1956 Here names for here schrewede: ne beoth noȝt forȝute ut. c 1470 Henry Wallace viii. 931 Xx{supt}{supy} dais owt the ost remaynit thar. 1598 Barret Theor. Warres 110 Such as bee slaine right out. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 41 Then thou was't not Out three yeeres old. 1675 E. W[ilson] Spadacr. Dunelm. Pref. 20 Those that know it full out as well as they must. 1812 in Examiner 7 Sept. 564/1 He must go and kill him out. |
8. To an issue; to an intelligible or explicit result or solution; as to find out, make out, puzzle out, work out; to help out; to come out, fall out, turn out.
| 1534 Tindale Phil. ii. 12 Worke out youre awne saluacion with feare and tremblynge. 1709 Tatler No. 101 ¶7, I must desire my Readers to help me out..in the Correction of these my Essays. 1743 Emerson Fluxions 120 If its Value comes out negative it is concave in that Point. 1887 L. Carroll Game of Logic i. §2. 25 We will work out one other Syllogism. |
9. To the full, complete, or utmost degree; in a way that bespeaks an effort at completeness, effect, or display, as in to deck out, dress out, fit out, rig out.
| 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions ii. viii. 180 The women are not sette out to allure. 1637 Shirley Gamester 111, More..Than well could furnish out two country-weddings. a 1649 Winthrop Hist. New Eng. (1853) II. 76 The church furnished him out, and provided a pinnace to transport him. 1863 F. A. Kemble Resid. Georgia 125 In fitting him out for his departure. 1874 Symonds Italy & Greece, Siena 66 A procession of priests and acolytes..and little girls dressed out in white. |
10. a. From a state of quiescence into a state of activity; from a contained or involved condition into one of accessibility; as to break out or burst out, to open out.
| a 1000– [see break v. 55 b]. 1857 Buckle Civiliz. I. viii. 518 The war that now broke out lasted seven years. 1865 H. Kingsley Hillyars & Burtons xlvi, You broke out on me, and bullied me, assuming I was going to swindle you. 1894 Wolseley Marlborough II. 179 A good line of communication was soon opened out. 1895 Times 19 Jan. 11/6 The result..prevented China from putting out her full power. |
b. Into outward expression or manifestation; into clearness or distinctness; into blossom or leaf.
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Rich. III 27 b, They layd the dead bodies out upon the bed. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 27 b, The Byshoppes Tyrrannye is there paynted out. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, i. ii. 263 Shine out faire Sunne,..That I may see my Shadow as I passe. 1642–3 Earl of Newcastle Declaration in Rushw. Hist. Coll. (1721) V. 134 A Course..chalked out to me by themselves. 1852 M. Arnold The Future ad fin., The stars come out. 1895 ‘Ian Maclaren’ Days of Auld Lang Syne, For Conscience Sake ii, Each spring the primroses came out below. |
11. a. Into utterance of sound; so as to be heard; aloud; as to call out, cry out, shout out, speak out.
| 1382 [see cry v. 21]. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. ccix. 192 Men myght here ther blowyng out with hornes more than a myle. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxxxiii. 262 Speke out hyer that ye may the better be herde. 1605 Shakes. Lear v. iii. 109 Come hither Herald..And read out this. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 510 Cyrene..seiz'd with Fear, Cries out, conduct my Son, conduct him here. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 266 ¶2 A muttering Voice, as if between Soliloquy and speaking out. 1869 Tennyson Pelleas & Ettarre 359 All the old echoes hidden in the wall Rang out like hollow woods at huntingtide. 1887 Hall Caine Son of Hagar i. iii, A solitary crow flew across the sky, and cawed out its guttural note. |
b. In the way of disclosure; to the knowledge of others or to public knowledge; openly.
| 13.. Cursor M. 27293 (Cott.) Þe preist..noght sceu his sinnes vte [Fairf. out]. a 1440 Sir Eglam. 57 What some ever that ye to me say, Y schalle hyt nevyr owte caste. c 1440 Jacob's Well 89 He þat schewyth out wyth his mowth..þe malyce of his herte. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Sept. 173 Say it out Diggon. 1637 Shirley Gamester v, That, if things come out, we should keep counsel. 1738 Pope Epil. Sat. i. 36 Come, come, at all I laugh he laughs, no doubt; The only diff'rence is I dare laugh out. 1872 Routledge's Ev. Boys Ann. 614/1 To stand up to him and tell him right out what a fool he was. |
12. a. Into public notice, publicity, or publication; into public circulation; from the printing press.
| 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 197 For epitaphies are..not set out till the parties bee deceassed. a 1568 R. Ascham Scholem. ii. (Arb.) 140 Not yet set out in Print. 1573– [see come v. 63 l]. 1662 H. More Philos. Writ. Pref. p. xi, Before this second volume of Descartes his came out. 1752 A. Murphy Gray's Inn Jrnl. No. 1, I cannot issue out my first Performance, without feeling an extraordinary Solicitude for the Event. 1895 Bookman Oct. 12/1 Mr. Hare's Autobiography..is apparently not to come out this season. |
b. Of a person: Into society; into professional life; into work or service; upon the stage.
| 1782 [see come v. 63 o]. 1806 A. Hunter Culina 269 The great object is to ‘bring the young lady out’,..in other words, to exhibit her as a show. 1849 Ld. Houghton in Life (1891) I. x. 433 My sister in town bringing out a young sister-in-law. 1885 J. K. Jerome On the Stage 6 Here the question very naturally arose, ‘How can I get out?’ |
13. a. With ellipsis of intr. vb. (go, come, etc.); hence functioning as a verb without inflexion. From the 1960s frequently used as a chant (preceded by the name of a politician or by a word signifying something unwanted) by political demonstrators. Also used in written political slogans.
(In imperative use this approaches an interjection: cf. out int. See also the inflected out v. below.)
| [c 1175 Wace Roman de Rou 8080 Normanz escrient: Deus aïe! La gent Englesche Ut, ut! escrie; Co est l'enseigne que jo di, Quant Engleis saillent hors a cri.] c 1386 Chaucer Prioress' T. 124 Mordre wol out, certeyn it wol nat faille. c 1440 Jacob's Well 2 Deep wose..in whiche þe soule styketh sumtyme so faste, þat he may noȝt out, but schulde peryssche. 1544 Bale Oldcastell in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) I. 254 It was concluded amonge them that..processe shulde oute agaynst hym. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. ii. 85 In the end truth will out. 1605 ― Macb. v. i. 39 Out, damned spot: out, I say! 1647 Trapp Comm. Rom. vii. 17 An ill inmate that will not out, till the house falleth on the head of it. 1764 Foote Patron iii. Wks. 1799 I. 356 The whole secret will certainly out. 1869 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1875) III. xv. 478 The English..mocked with cries of ‘Out, out’, every foe who entered or strove to enter. 1884 Tennyson Becket i. i, O drunken ribaldry! Out, beast! out, bear!..begone! 1887 W. Westall Her Two Millions xxvii, ‘Murder will out’. They say so, because they have no idea how often murders don't out. 1968 Times 8 July 1/7 More than 100 Pakistani students took over the Pakistan High Commission in Lowndes Square, S.W., last night... Demonstrators lined the balcony chanting and waving placards saying: ‘This building is occupied’ and ‘Ayub out’. 1970 B. Levin Pendulum Years xv. 259 The streets of Britain continued [in the 1960s] to echo to cries of ‘Americans out of Vietnam!’ and the ritual chanting of ‘Ho-ho-ho Chi Minh!’ 1970 D. Neville-Rolfe Power without Glory ii. 244 Even the stone-throwing rioters displayed their own brand of charm when they paraded in front of the Embassy their very home-made banners boldly declaring ‘out—perfide albino’. 1970 (recorded from oral evidence) Wilson out! 1973 Times 21 Nov. 18/4 ‘Anti-abortion—out out out; Free Abortion on Demand—in in in,’ they chanted. 1976 New Society 26 Aug. 435/2 (heading) Hashish, out. 1977 Woman's Own 26 Mar. 31/3 Then you notice the blackened buildings, boarded up houses and the painted slogans in the housing estates: ‘Brits out.’ ‘Join the IRA.’ |
b. So out with = have out, bring out. (Cf. the similar away, down, in, off, on, up with, and see with.) out with it: an exhortation to a speaker to admit or assert something over which he is hesitating.
| c 1205 Lay. 23931 Arður ut [c 1275 up] mid his sweorde. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Acts 87 b, They out with theyr swerdes, and cutte the ropes. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 54 Out with him..let him go to plow and cart. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. iv. 22 Out with the dog (saies one). 1694 Motteux Rabelais iv. xxii. (1737) 95 Out with all your Sails. 1709 Prior Yng. Gentleman in Love 67 Our Sex will—What? out with it:—Lye. 1820 Scott Abbot xix, Rather too prompt to out with poniard. 1860 Thackeray Round. Papers, Thorn in Cushion Wks. 1872 X. 36 Out with your cambric, dear ladies, and let us all whimper together. 1924 Galsworthy Forest i. i. 11 Out with it, Mr. Farrell. 1974 ‘S. Woods’ Done to Death 35 Come on, Dick, out with it. What do you know about them? |
14. With ellipsis of trans. vb. (put, bring, etc.).
| 1819–20 W. Irving Sketch-bk., John Bull (1865) 389 Ready at a wink or nod, to out sabre, and flourish it over the orator's head. 1857 C. Gribble in Merc. Marine Mag. (1858) V. 3 Out top-gallant-sails and flying jib! 1891 M. O'Rell Frenchm. in Amer. 246 The Westerner may out pistol and shoot you if you annoy him. |
II. Of position. (A series of senses corresponding to those in I, as indicating the position resulting from the motion there expressed.)
* simply.
15. a. Expressing position or situation beyond the bounds of, or not within, a space.
| c 1425 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1999 Neuerthelesse my wyt ys so thynne..That hit ys owte where hyt went ynne. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 94 Where the Sea brake in over the walles, that are made to kepe it out. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. ii. iii. 47 If I see a sword out, my finger itches to make one. 1599 ― Much Ado iii. v. 37 When the age is in, the wit is out. a 1770 Jortin Serm. (1771) II. iv. 72 Wee shut out so many enemies to our repose. 1843 Blackw. Mag. LIV. 7 My sword was already out. 1860 Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. III. ci. 4 If these things are not said in parliament, they must be said out. |
b. Not within doors; not ‘in’; in the open air. So school is out (chiefly U.S.): school is at an end. out to lunch: see lunch n.2 2 b. See also day out (day n. 19), night out (night n. 5 a).
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 375/1 Owt, or owte..Extra, foras. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 5337 Þe husbande of þat house was oute. 1603 G. Owen Pembrokeshire vii. (1891) 56 They feede not their sheepe with haye in winter..but let them gett their livinge out them selfes. 1775 Sheridan Rivals i. ii, Did you see Sir Lucius while you was out? 1814 Jane Austen Lett. (1884) II. 231 We were out a great part of the morning..shopping. 1827 W. Taylor Poems (ed. 2) 91 In that whimp'ling burn when the school was out. 1843 Mrs. Stowe Mayflower 172 But, when ‘school was out’, James's spirits foamed over as naturally as a tumbler of soda-water. 1858 Ramsay Remin. vi. (ed. 18) 163 The housemaid was not at home, it being her turn for the Sunday ‘out’. 1870 [see evening n.1 3]. 1887 L. Carroll Game of Logic ii. §6. 50, I have been out for a walk. 1911 in Sc. Nat. Dict. (1965) VI. s.v., Word went through the toon like lichtenin, for the school wis out. 1925 Wodehouse Carry On, Jeeves! v. 108, I have already visited some of New York's places of interest on my evening out. 1948 ‘J. Tey’ Franchise Affair ix. 94 ‘Shouldn't leave your car. Take it with you... It's Saturday.’ ‘Saturday?’ ‘School's out.’ ‘Oh, I see. But there's nothing in it..that's movable.’ 1956 B. Holiday Lady sings Blues (1973) ii. 17, I finished up the fifth grade, and as soon as school was out Grandpop put one those big tags around my neck, saying who I was and where I was going. 1965 Times Lit. Suppl. 22 Apr. 317/1 In a recent road safety cartoon on B.B.C. television, I was surprised to hear the Americanism ‘when school is out’. 1974 ‘R. Tate’ Birds of Bloodied Feather vi. 127 ‘I trust I'm not disturbing you?’ ‘What's the time?’ ‘Four.’ ‘School's out’... ‘Come on in’. 1974 Times 8 Apr. 14/7 A retired bricklayer..spoke to me in the owlishly conspiratorial tones of one who has been cheered by his evening out. |
c. Away from one's place of residence, abroad, on an expedition; esp. in the field (for war or sport); in arms; away from work, on strike; cf. sense 19 b. out there, in the war of 1914–18: at the Western Front; in France (colloq.).
| 1605 Shakes. Macb. iv. iii. 183 There ran a Rumour Of many worthy Fellowes, that were out. ― Lear i. i. 33 He hath bin out nine yeares, and away he shall againe. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. 364, I was a week out with him and saw but four Cows, which were so wild, that we did not get one. 1711 Budgell Spect. No. 116 ¶4 Sir Roger is so keen at this Sport, that he has been out almost every Day since I came down. 1806 Scott Let. to R. Surtees Fam. Lett. 1894 I. 66 My great-grandfather was out, as the phrase goes..in 1715. 1887 Manch. Guard. 26 Feb. 7 People who had been ‘camping out’ were beginning to return to their homes. 1890 Spectator 29 Sept., Most of the miners are ‘out’, not for wages, but in defence of the grand principle that non-Union men shall not be employed. 1896 N. & Q. 8th Ser. IX. 161/1 [He] was an ardent supporter of Prince Charles Edward, but through illness was unable to be out in 1745. 1917 A. G. Empey Over Top 302 Out there, a term used in Blighty which means ‘in France’. Conscientious objectors object to going ‘out there’. 1920 W. J. Locke House of Baltazar xii. 150, I want to kick myself for sitting here in luxury when there's so much to be done out there. I had got my platoon—I was acting first lieutenant—like a high-class orchestra. 1929 Papers Mich. Acad. Sci., Arts & Lett. X. 312/2 Out there, England's equivalent for ‘Over there’. 1974 Times 27 Feb. 14/3 The miners are still out; world prices are still rising. 1977 ‘J. Le Carré’ Hon. Schoolboy vi. 121 Pound's in the soup again... Electricians out. Railways out. |
d. Of the water of a river: Overflowing its banks, flooding the adjacent ground.
| 1647 Cowley Mistress, Welcome vi, My Dove..I doubt Would ne're return, had not the Flood been out. a 1682 Sir T. Browne Misc. Tracts (1684) 56 If the River had been out, and the Fields under Water. 1702 Thoresby Diary (ed. Hunter) I. 397 The waters were yet out, that we rode through Askwith. 1779 Hist. Eur. in Ann. Reg. 182/2 The freshes were then out, which seemed to render the river in itself a sufficient rampart. 1854 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XV. i. 222 The waters of the Cherwell are soon out, and soon off. Mod. At Oxford the floods are now rarely out, and years pass without centre-boards being seen on Port Meadow. |
e. Sent forth by authority, issued.
| 1602 2nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. v. iii. 2105 Writts are out for me, to apprehend me. 1754 Ess. Manning Fleet 13 When the Warrants are out, the Men abscond. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xv. III. 588 Warrants had been out against him; and he had been taken into custody. |
f. Not in the hands or occupation of the owner; let or leased; in other hands or occupation.
| 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. v. ii. 29 Thu. Considers she my Possessions?.. Pro. They are out by Lease. a 1704 Locke (J.), The land that is out at rack rent. a 1735 Arbuthnot (J.), Those lands were out upon leases of four years. Mod. Obliged to call in the money that he had lying out. |
g. Not included or inserted, omitted; as to leave out.
| a 1470 [see leave v.1 14 d]. 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xxiii, He makes the mark of Insertion where it is Left out, and only Writes (Out) in the Margin. 1887 L. Carroll Game of Logic i. §1. 6 We agree to leave out the word ‘Cakes’ altogether. |
h. Not in the company; apart; separately.
| 1607 Heywood Wom. Kild w. Kindn. Wks. 1892 II. 121 No by my Faith sir, when you are togither I sitte out. |
i. to be out for: to have one's interests or energies directed to, to be intent on (something); also to be out to (do something). Cf. all out adv. phr. 4. orig. U.S.
| 1901 Merwin & Webster Calumet ‘K’ i. 13 They're mostly out for results up at the office. Let's see the bill for it. 1901 S. E. White Westerners xxix. 272 When they are out to have a good time,..they want somebody they can have their sort of fun with. 1907 Beerbohm in Sat. Rev. 13 Apr. 457/1 She is not ‘out for’ fun. She is an ardent suffragist. 1912 Humanitarian Oct. 76, I am sure that no person in this country, save him who is out for personal gain, wishes us to lag behind in this movement. 1913 H. Walpole Fortitude iii. x. 388 She's out for happiness at any cost and you're out for freedom. Ibid. iv. iii. 474 He was ‘out’ to defend his whole life. 1926 A. L. Maycock Inquisition v. 116 All the Inquisitors..were out to convert and reconcile, not to condemn. 1956 A. L. Rowse Early Churchills xii. 236 The Dutch vetoed a battle... Marlborough was exceedingly disappointed: he was out for decision. 1959 N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) 42 They kept actin' like they was out to get him first. |
16. a. Away or at a distance from some recognized place; away from one's own country, abroad, in a colony or distant land; in quot. c 900 afar in the outer ocean (supposed to encircle the earth).
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. i. iii. (1890) 30 Orcadas þa ealond, þa wæron ut on garsecge butan Breotone. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 197 Oder kinnes neddre is ut in oðer londe. a 1300 Cursor M. 20389, I was ferr heþen at a preching Ferr vte in anoþer land. a 1400–50 Alexander 23 Oute in þe erth of Egipt enhabet vmquile Þe wysest wees of the werd as I in writt fynd. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1707 With his semly sonnes, þat him sate next, Saue Ector,—was oute, as aunter befelle, In a countre by coursse þat of þe coron helde. 1882 Ouida Maremma I. 42 They have taken him, and they will cage him out on Gorgona yonder. Mod. Some members of my family are out at the Cape of Good Hope. He has settled out in New Zealand. |
b. At sea, away from the land or shore, or from the bank of a lake or river.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 75 Þan was a wardan ware, oute in þe wale stremys, Of all þe nauè. 1659 D. Pell Impr. of Sea 530 Ships whilst out are lyable to a thousand ominous contingencies. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. ii, The tide was out. Ibid. ii. i, Contrary winds..keep them out. 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales I. 174 But we are far enough out; opposite the boat-house. 1843 Fraser's Mag. XXVIII. 713 The wind turned perversely a-head the third day out. 1888 Manch. Exam. 2 July 5/3 A large number of fishermen were out at sea on the day of election. |
17. a. Projecting, protruding; spec. through a rent in the clothing, as out at elbows, heels, or knees; see elbow n. 4 c, heel n.1 12.
| 1553 [see heel n.1 12]. 1588 Marprel. Epist. (Arb.) 32 Out at the heeles with all other vserers. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 169 His eye-balles further out, than when he liued, Staring full gastly, like a strangled man. 1601 ― Jul. C. i. i. 19 Yet if you be out Sir, I can mend you. 1603 [see elbow n. 4 c]. 1693 C. Dryden in J. Dryden's Juvenal vii. (1697) 168 Hither coming, out at Heels and Knees. 1896 Pall Mall Mag. Sept. 41 A seedy, out-at-toe shoe. |
b. Extended from its attachment, unfurled, displayed, as a flag or the like.
| 1720 Lond. Gaz. No. 5849/1 Admiral Byng sent a..Vessel with British Colours out. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Out,..the situation of the sails when..set, or extended,..as opposed to in; which is..furled. |
18. Without; on the outside; externally. (Opposed to in adv. 5 b.) † out and in = outside and inside, thoroughly, altogether.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 6485 Þir er þe comamentes ten..If we þam heild, bath vt and in. ? a 1500 Chester Pl. i. 275 But save your self, both out and In. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. v. v. 60 Search Windsor Castle (Elues) within, and out. 1803 Nelson 4 June in Nicolas Disp. (1845) V. 79 This Island is bold, too, inside or out. c 1860 H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 24 Reeve it..from out in. |
** in pregnant and transferred uses.
19. a. Removed from its own place or position; displaced, dislocated, extracted. out of joint: see joint.
| a 1225 [see oute]. 1399 Pol. Songs I. 363 The bothom is ny ouȝt. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 19 In bringyng to her placis ioyntis þat ben oute & in helynge boones þat ben to broken. c 1435 Torr. Portugal 1035 Thow the fyndes ey were owte. 1497 Naval Accts. Hen. VII (1896) 289 Ketylles for pyche with the Botome owte. 1605 Shakes. Macb. iii. iv. 79 The times has bene, That when the Braines were out, the man would dye, And there an end. 1611 ― Wint. T. v. iii. 77, I feare (sir) my shoulder-blade is out. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 245 ¶2 Her Mouth wide,..Two Teeth out before. a 1756 E. Haywood New Present (1771) 261 Wiping it till the stain is out. |
b. Not in office; rejected or removed from a post. Also, out of work, unemployed. Cf. sense 15 c.
| 1605 Shakes. Lear v. iii. 15 Talke of Court newes..who's in, who's out. 1728 Young Love Fame i. 200 ‘What lords are those saluting with a grin?’ One is just out, and one as lately in. 1835 Court Mag. VI. 235/1 The gentlemen out curse the gentlemen in, And vehemently swear their promotion's a sin. 1878 T. Wood in J. Burnett Useful Toil (1974) iii. 309, I..was regarded as an enthusiast in some places for seeking work when so many were out who were known to the masters. 1885 G. Meredith Diana xvi, His party was out, and he hoped for higher station on its return to power. 1890 W. Booth In Darkest England i. iv. 38, I would often be out of work a fortnight to three weeks at a time. Once earned {pstlg}3 in a week, working day and night, but then had a fortnight out directly after. 1920 J. Ferguson in Northern Numbers 98 She had been ‘out’ since May, Her ‘panto’ savings now were well-nigh spent. 1935 N. Mitchison We have been Warned i. 74 He's a riveter. He came..when there was work going at the docks... Now he's out. 1968 J. Bingham I Love, I Kill viii. 95 When I told him I was ‘out’, he bought me a pint instead. And he gave me two tickets for the show he was in. 1973 Listener 29 Nov. 736/1 A British prime minister discovered as having been implicated in the same kind of depths as Nixon would be out. 1977 Times 6 Dec. 6/6 Because my husband's out of work he's not a man to take anything off us... Since the time he has been out they've never gone short of shoes. |
c. No longer in the game, or in the active or leading position denoted by in (in adv. 6 d); in Cricket, dismissed from the wickets; also said of the side who are not having their ‘innings’. Freq. not out (cf. not-out a.); also transf. and fig.
| 1609 R. Armin Hist. Two Maids of More-clacke D2v Tutch. What doe you call it when the ball sir hits the stoole? Filbon. Why out. 1746 in J. Nyren Young Cricketer's Tutor (1833) 111 England, 1st Innings... Newland 18—not out. 1754 J. Love Cricket 17 Five on the side of the Counties are out for three Notches. 1755 Game at Cricket 10 If a Ball is nipp'd up, and he strikes it again wilfully, before it came to the Wicket, it's out. 1801 Strutt Sports & Past. ii. iii. §20 (Trap-ball) If the scores demanded exceed in number the lengths of the cudgel from the trap to the ball, he loses the whole, and is out. Ibid. §22 (Tip-cat) His business is to beat the cat over the ring. If he fails in so doing, he is out, and another player takes his place. 1849 Laws of Cricket in ‘Bat’ Crick. Man. (1850) 55 The Striker is Out if either of the bails be bowled off, or if a stump be bowled out of the ground. 1857 Hughes Tom Brown ii. viii, The Lords' men were out by half-past twelve o'clock for ninety-eight runs. 1881 Sportsman's Year-Bk. 137 He..has been in 36 times, and ‘not out’ four times. 1894 Daily News 20 Dec. 3/7 The referee stopped the fight at the close of the first round..Smith being heavily punished and all but out. 1906 E. Dyson Fact'ry 'Ands vi. 62 The..thermometer..registered 103°, not out. 1937 Partridge Dict. Slang 424/2 Not out (96), 96 and still alive. 1955 Times 11 July 4/2 Waite, when he had made 61 and with the total at 314, was given not out caught behind the wicket off Lock. |
d. No longer in prison.
| 1885 H. Conway Family Affair xxvii, I suppose he's out now on ticket-of-leave. 1886 Besant Childr. Gibeon ii. xxxii, He had presumably received his ticket of leave, and he was out. 1930 E. Wallace Lady of Ascot i. 13 ‘How long have you been out?’.. ‘I don't know what you mean,’ he said. ‘How long have you been out of gaol?’ 1934 D. L. Sayers Nine Tailors 279 Well, as you know, I wasn't out. I was inside again, owing to a regrettable misunderstanding. 1967 M. Procter Exercise Hoodwink xiii. 91 He was a hardened criminal... The days ‘out’ were great days, a life of affluence and excitement. The days ‘in’ were the price he paid. 1976 ‘B. Graeme’ Snatch v. 56 It was Reg Abbott who got two [years], wasn't it? Reg should be out by now. |
e. Unconscious; spec. in Boxing, defeated through failing to rise within the ten seconds allowed after being knocked down; so out on one's feet: dazed or barely conscious, although still in a standing position; out like a light: see light n. 5 f; out to it (Austral. slang): dead drunk; fast asleep.
| 1898 B. J. Angle in W. A. Morgan ‘House’ on Sport I. 45 A competitor stopped by a blow on the mark is as much ‘out’ as though rendered helpless by a hit on the point. 1901 R. Fitzsimmons Phys. Cult. & Self-Defense 159 Time was up. The champion was out. 1918 War Birds (1927) 150 She responded..by hitting him playfully over the head with an empty port bottle... It was a terrific crack and he was out for some time. 1941 Baker Dict. Austral. Slang 52 Out to it, dead drunk. 1946 K. Tennant Lost Haven (1947) xi. 171 He was properly out to it that night. We made speeches about how sorry we was to see him go. 1947 ‘N. Shute’ Chequer Board 3, I..fell down..on the floor, clean out. 1952 M. Allingham Tiger in Smoke xix. 270 You're ill... You may not know it, but you're out on your feet. 1955 E. Hillary High Adventure 175 For God's sake, Charles, keep an eye on John! He's out on his feet but doesn't realise it! 1963 N. Marsh Dead Water (1964) ix. 246 When he opened his eyes he thought with astonishment: ‘I was out.’ 1973 ‘H. Howard’ Highway to Murder vii. 85 He was still out cold but he began coming round just before the ambulance got there. |
20. † a. At fault, at a loss from failure of memory or self-possession; nonplussed, puzzled. Obs.
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 152. 1600 ― A.Y.L. iv. i. 76 Verie good Orators when they are out, they will spit. 1607 ― Cor. v. iii. 41, I haue forgot my part, And I am out. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. ii. iii. vi. (1651) 99 Appollonius Rhodius..banished himself..because he was out in reciting his Poems. 1661 Pepys Diary 2 July, [He] was so much out that he was hissed off the stage. 1681 Dryden Spanish Friar iii. ii, I never was out at a mad frolic. |
b. Astray from what is right or correct; in the wrong, in error, mistaken.
| a 1641 Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. (1642) 328 Concerning Titius, that learned man is out. 1683 Wood Life 18 May (O.H.S.) III. 49 Sir Thomas Gower..spake an English speech, but miserably out in his delivery of it. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 26 ¶510 He..has been very seldom out in these his Guesses. 1778 F. Burney Evelina (1791) II. xxxvii. 245 There, Lovel, you are out. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas iii. vii. ¶2, I was a little out in my calculation. 1887 Rider Haggard She (1888) 43 If the captain is not out in his reckoning. |
c. Short for out of practice, time, tune, etc.: see the ns.
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. i. 135 Wide a'th bow hand, yfaith your hand is out. 1671 Westminster Drollery ii. 81 Y'are out, says Dick, 'Tis a lye, says Nick, The Fidler playd it false. 1837 Marryat Dog-Fiend ix, Jemmy..tuned one string.., which was a little out. |
d. At variance, no longer friendly. (Cf. 5 b.)
| 1565–72 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Alienus, Pro alienato, alienated: out with vs. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iii. v. 34 Launcelet and I are out. 1664 Pepys Diary 17 Aug., Mr. Edward Montagu is..now quite out with his father again. 1858 W. Arnot Laws fr. Heaven i. 21 He is out with his former friend and in with his former adversary. 1873 W. Carleton Farm Ballads, Betsey & I are out i, Things at home are crossways, and Betsey and I are out. |
21. Out of pocket; in default; minus (a sum).
| 1632 Massinger City Madam ii. i, I am out now Six-hundred in the cash. 1636 Sanderson Serm. II. 59 But the thing he stuck at most was the moneys he was out. 1887 G. R. Sims Mary Jane's Mem. xi. 150 She was out the {pstlg}5 10s. lent to her mistress. 1889 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 7 Feb. 1/2 Alleges..he is $5000 out, owing to the dishonesty of..an employe. |
22. a. No longer burning or alight; extinguished.
| c 1325 [see oute]. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 375/2 Owt, or qwenchyd, as candylle, or lyghte, extinctus. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxxii. 46 Quhen licht wes owt and durris wes bard. 1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriot. Ep. Ded., When the Funeral Pyre was out and the last Valediction over. 1826 Disraeli Viv. Grey ii. xi, The fire was out, but his feet were still among the ashes. |
b. No longer in vogue or in fashion; not in season, as game, fish, or fruit.
| 1660 Pepys Diary 7 Oct., To change my long black cloake for a short one (long cloakes being now quite out). 1745 Norton Reg. in Sir C. Sharp Chron. Mirab. (1841) 62 Marriage comes in on the 13th of January, and at Septuagesimo Sunday it is out again till Low Sunday. 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. III, Besides, Child, jewels are quite out at present. 1898 St. James's Gaz. 12 Jan. 12/2 White gloves, we are pleased to learn, are ‘out’. 1936 M. Mitchell Gone with Wind xii. 227 He had seen no pantalets on the streets, so he imagined they were ‘out’. 1954 [see in adv. 6 i]. 1959 Encounter Dec. 16/1 It is becoming steadily easier for newspaper or television programmes to dictate what is out, what is in. 1972 Daily Tel. 15 Mar. 14 Creativity is ‘in’, while spelling, punctuation and well-formed handwriting..are ‘out’. |
c. Out of the question, impossible, not to be considered; unwanted, unacceptable, prohibited; out of place, irrelevant.
| 1936 W. Stevens Let. 27 Jan. (1967) 307 Any form of hell raising is simply out. 1938 Topeka (Kansas) Capital 15 June 10/1 (headline) Rail legislation out? 1940 ‘M. Innes’ There came both Mist & Snow ii. 26 The revolver-shooting fad to which I had been so unexpectedly introduced appeared to me childish in itself and oddly ‘out’ in the sort of house-party characteristic of Belrive. 1945 Tee Emm (Air Ministry) V. 33 Unauthorised low-flying should be out, repeat out. 1956 I. Bromige Enchanted Garden ii. ii. 91 Fiona left her velvet coat and tulle dress in the back of the car, tied the raincoat tightly round her waist and rolled up the sleeves... Glamour was out that evening. 1973 ‘H. Howard’ Highway to Murder i. 16 ‘Tell your boss to have a quiet word with the law.’.. ‘No, that's out.’ |
23. a. No longer current or lasting; expired, elapsed; finished, exhausted; at an end. Also, having exhausted one's supply of a particular thing; out of stock of a specified article.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 4695 (Cott.) Quen þe seuen yeirs war vte [G. vte; F., Tr. oute]. 1535 Coverdale Ruth ii. 23 She gathered vntill the barley haruest and the wheat haruest was out. ― Jer. xxxiv. 14 When seuen yeares are out, euery man shal let go fre his bought seruaunte an Hebrue. 1600 Rowlands Let. Humours Blood vii. 83 But that dates out. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iii. ii. 1 When the But is out we will drinke water. 1682 Bunyan Holy War (Cassell) 229 Lent was almost out. 1743 in Waghorn Cricket Scores (1899) 31, 23 notches to fetch, to win, when the time was out. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) x. xl, Being told by your servant..that the coals are almost out. 1850 Tait's Mag. XVII. 184/2 The thirty miles were out at last. 1885 G. Allen Babylon v, Before the week was out, he had been duly installed. 1885 List of Subscribers (United Telephone Co.) p. xv, The hotel cellarman came up... ‘Sir,’ said he, ‘we have had a run upon minerals, and are nearly out.’ 1935 J. Steinbeck Tortilla Flat iii. 36 Run down and get four bottles of ginger-ale. The hotel is out. 1942 ‘A. Bridge’ Frontier Passage xi. 194 You haven't got a gasper, have you? We're out. 1972 J. McClure Catepillar Cop iii. 30 Got a smoke? I'm out. |
b. Used in radio communication to indicate that the speaker has finished speaking and expects no reply. over and out: see over adv. 6 b.
| 1950 ‘D. Divine’ King of Fassarai xi. 73 He called the signaller. ‘Take this down... {oqq}No signs occupation. Out.{cqq}’ 1955 E. Waugh Officers & Gentlemen i. ix. 108 He took the instrument. ‘Headquarters to D Troop. Where are you? Over... You can't be... Damn. Out.’ 1958 ‘Castle’ & ‘Hailey’ Flight into Danger i. 23 The acknowledgment came on the air. ‘Flight 714. This is Winnipeg Control. Roger. Out.’ 1966 D. Holbrook Flesh Wounds 218 ‘Hallo Roger Baker, Hallo Roger Baker. Able Zebra asks for hornet support. Roger Baker over.’ ‘Roger Baker O.K. Out.’ 1971 J. Wainwright Dig Grave 16 At County Headquarters Wireless Operations Room they used the more powerful, countrywide air waves... ‘Purple Fifteen to Control. Understood and out.’ 1976 L. Dills CB Slanguage Dict. (rev. ed.) 51 Out, through transmitting. |
24. a. Come from a concealed or veiled state; come into sight, become visible; manifest, apparent.
| 1612 Two Noble Kinsmen iii. iv, I am very cold; and all the stars are out too. 1703 Lond. Gaz. No. 3923/4 The old upper Light-House will be blacked over when the Light is out in the new Light-House. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 199 The full amount of eruption is out usually within twenty-four hours of the appearance of the first spot. 1899 J. Hutchinson in Arch. Surg. X. 112 Whilst the secondary phenomena were fully out, he had had a severe illness. |
b. Unfolded from the bud, as a leaf or blossom; hence (of the plant), in leaf, in flower.
| 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 75 Leaue wadling about, till arbor be out. a 1626 Bacon (J.), Leaves are out and perfect in a month. 1813 Macaulay in Life & Lett. (1880) I. i. 42 The trees are all out. 1896 ‘Ian Maclaren’ Kate Carnegie, Pleasaunce 83 In the spring-time when the primroses are out. |
25. Disclosed, made known, no longer a secret.
| 1713 Swift On Himself, Walpole and Aislabie..Inform the commons, that the secret's out. 1768 Goldsm. Good-n. Man v. Wks. (Globe Ed.) 637/2 Yes, yes, all's out; I now see the whole affair. 1869 W. P. Mackay Grace & Truth iv, The whole truth is out about us. |
26. a. Made public; in circulation (as a report or statement); issued from the press, published (as a book, etc.).
| 1625 B. Jonson Staple of N. iii. ii, We gossips are bound to believe it, an't be once out, and a-foot. 1850 Ld. Houghton in Life (1891) I. x. 445 Wordsworth's new poem will be out next week. 1863 Brewer Eng. Stud. 355 On March 7, 1576, he writes to say that the New Testament is out. |
b. Of a girl or young woman: (a) Introduced into society; (b) At work or in domestic service.
| c 1792 Jane Austen Minor Wks. (1954) 151 This mighty affair is now happily over, and my Girls are out. 1813 ― Pride & Prej. II. vi. 72 Are any of your younger sisters out, Miss Bennet? Ibid. 73 The younger ones out before the elder are married! 1814 ― Mansf. Park v, Pray, is she out, or is she not? I am puzzled. She dined at the Parsonage, with the rest of you, which seemed like being out; and yet she says so little, that I can hardly suppose she is. 1831 Society I. 228, I can tell her, that if my Jemima were out, her chance would be but slender. 1850 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 116 No servant but a little girl who had ‘never been out before’. 1866 Mrs. Gaskell Wives & Dau. xxi. (1867) 212 They are not out, you know, till after the Easter ball. |
c. Before the world; in existence. Cf. oute.
| 1857 G. Lawrence Guy L. vi. 47 Constance Brandon and Flora Bellasys—quite the two best things out. 1859 ― Sword & G. xvii. 230 Fanny was the worst casuist out. 1861 Mayhew Lond. Lab. III. 106, I think I'm the cleverest juggler out. 1872 B. Jerrold London xv. 127 The ginger-beer merchant..gesticulating and pattering one sultry morning... ‘The Best Drink Out!’ was his perpetual cry. 1973 Times 15 Oct. 22/8 A Triumph is still the best bike out, as a Norton represents a compromise between design criteria and production costs. |
III. 27. Besides the prec. senses, out is used idiomatically with many verbs; e.g. to bear out, clean out, clear out, crowd out, dole out, draw out, eke out, face out, fill out, open out, plan out, point out, set out, shut out, sketch out, spin out, tread out, write out, etc., which see under the verbs themselves.
IV. Adverbial Phrases.
28. out and about. Going out and going about, as after an illness, etc.
| 1881 L. B. Walford Dick Netherby i. 8 Till Mr. Netherby was out and about again. 1884 R. Buchanan Foxglove Manor II. xxvi. 238 Ellen was already out and about. |
| attrib. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 21 Feb. 9/1 The driver is in his out-and-about way a keen critic of Government measures. |
29. out and away. By far; beyond all others.
| 1834 Tait's Mag. I. 43/1 Beggary is a business, a profession, out-and-away the most thriving, profitable, secure [etc.]. 1883 Stevenson Treasure Isl. iv. xvii, ‘Who's the best shot?’..‘Mr. Trelawney, out and away’. |
30. out and home. a. To a place at a distance, and home again. Also attrib.
| 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 86 They employing yearly Forty Sail of stout Ships to and from all Parts where they trade, out and home. 1899 Pall Mall G. 11 Oct. 9/2 This is a world's record for a lady rider over an out-and-home course. |
b. attrib. Played alternately on their own ground and that of their opponents.
| 1895 Daily News 10 Dec. 5/4 It may be necessary..to reduce the minimum of eight out-and-home matches at present insisted on by the M.C.C. Committee. |
31. out and in. [Cf. in and] a. Out of a place and in again; in and out. b. Outside and inside, without and within.
| a 1300 XI Pains Hell 180 in O.E. Misc. 152 And creopeþ vt and in ayeyn. c 1375 Cursor M. 5615 (Fairf.) Ho..gert to pik hit oute & in Þat þorou hit muȝt na water wyn. 1535 Coverdale 1 Chron. x. 28 They bare the vessell out and in. 1792 Burns Duncan Gray ii, Duncan sigh'd baith out and in. 1842 T. Martin My Namesake in Fraser's Mag. Dec., ‘Full, sir, out and in’, said the cad. |
32. out and return. = sense 30 a.
| 1963 Times 31 May 16/2 The lengths of the out-and-return paths to the ionosphere. 1966 A. Battersby Math. in Managem. vi. 157 Each unit represents 1,000 tons making an out-and-return journey of 2 miles. |
See also out and out.
Add: [I.] [1.] i. Of a train, coach, steamer, mail, etc.: going out, departing. Cf. in adv. 6 h.
| 1911 R. Brooke Let. Jan. (1968) 269 Your letter arrived by the last post in last night, and I..didn't get back in time to catch the last post out. 1987 R. Ingalls End of Tragedy 44, I wanted to be a painter, so I just jumped on the first train out. |
[2.] b. Golf. [In some cases properly sense 16.] To or at the end of the outward half (usu. the first nine holes) of a golf-course (in so many strokes). Cf. home adv. 3 b.
| 1909 Daily Chron. 7 May 8/4 Out in 36, he came home in a good 37, and made certain of a place. 1932 B. Darwin Out of Rough 266 With great bravery he got a nine to the eighteenth, and so finished in 214, 97 out and 117 home. 1969 Times 30 May 8/7 Maurice Bembridge..missed green after green and could only get out in 41. 1982 Times 5 Nov. 19/7 Out in 31, Canizares was seven under par at that stage. |
[16.] c. Of the tide: having receded from the shore, at its lowest ebb.
| 1673 J. Ray Observations Journey Low-Countries 149 Certain Flats..covered all over with water at full Sea, but about the City when the Tide is out in many places bare. 1719 Defoe Crusoe I. 65 When the Tide was out, I got most of the Pieces of Cable ashore. 1883 L. Troubridge Life amongst Troubridges (1966) 165 Meaning to bathe..but the tide miles out. 1932 D. L. Sayers Have his Carcase i. 9 The tide was nearly out now, and the wet beach shimmered..in the lazy moonlight. 1984 T. Soper Nat. Trust Guide to Coast 116 (caption) Shore-birds like the turnstone..will forage over the mud when the tide is out. |
d. Racing. Short of the finishing-post.
| 1949 Times 18 June 6/1 Two furlongs out there was some crowding and bumping, but Richards got through on The Cobbler and dashed to the front in the last furlong. 1960 Times 15 June 17/2 Solo Singer fell five furlongs out, bringing down Combwell Beeches when near the front. 1986 Sporting Life Weekender 17–19 Apr. 30/3 Peaty Sandy hit the front five from home, was clear two out, and won by a comfortable two lengths. |
[22.] d. Of a telephone, radio, etc.: out of order, broken down; no longer functioning, inoperative. Cf. down adv. 17 c.
| 1975 J. Hansen Trouble Maker i. 5 Help's a long way off. Nowhere, if the telephone's out. 1976 Publishers Weekly 2 Aug. 108/2 His entire electrical system is out. With no radio and only a limited amount of fuel, it looks like an icy death very soon. 1976 E. P. Benson Bulls of Ronda xxix. 187 He went across to the radio and punched the buttons. There was no sound... ‘The radio's out. I was sure it was in order.’ |
[26.] d. Acknowledged openly as a homosexual (or bisexual); ‘out of the closet’ (see closet n. 3 d). colloq.
| 1979 Radio Times 5–11 May 79/1 If you publish this letter, I would be grateful if you would withhold my full name, because I am not yet fully ‘out’. 1983 T. Heald Networks viii. 156 A Gay News poll in 1981 found that only forty-three per cent of homosexuals were ‘out’ at work. 1987 Venue 27 Mar. 15/3 Homosexuals find it easier to be ‘out’ than bisexuals. |
▪ II. out, n.
[The adv. out, used sbst. as a name for itself, or elliptically with some n. understood.]
1. a. Proverbial phr. † to drink the three outs: see quots. Obs. gentleman of the three outs: see gentleman 5 c.
| 1622 S. Ward Woe to Drunkards (1627) 20 Stay and drinke the three Outs first that is, Wit out of the head, Money out of the purse, Ale out of the pot. 1624 T. Scott God & King (1633) 26 To drink the three Outs, to drink by the dozen, by the yard, and by the bushell. 1656 Trapp Comm. Gal. v. 21 A company of odious drunkards having drunk all the three outs. |
b. slang. (See quots.) So three-out, a glass holding a third of some measure of liquor.
| 1835 [see gin n.2 2 a]. 1903 Daily Chron. 24 June 7/2 ‘Two Bass's and three outs’ is an order which seems to be instantly comprehended by a barmaid who distributes the contents of two bottles among three glasses. 1908 Ibid. 6 Feb. 4/7 In a gin palace an ‘out’ is a dram glass. |
2. a. Short for outside (in opposition to inside). In quot. 1890, Something external.
| 1717 Prior Alma ii. 37 The gown..The out, if Indian figures stain, The inside must be rich and plain. 1819 Byron Juan i. clxxxvii, Juan..liking not the inside, lock'd the out. 1890 J. H. Stirling Gifford Lect. xviii. 351 It [space] lies there motionless, a motionless infinite Out. |
b. from out to out: from one extremity to the other; in total external length or breadth.
| 1692 Capt. Smith's Seaman's Gram. ii. xiv. 113 The Diameter..may from Out to Out be near 20 Inches. 1707 Lond. Gaz. No. 4319/3 A Chapel..52 Foot wide from Out to Out. 1834–47 J. S. Macaulay Field Fortif. (1851) 185 The width of the shaft in the clear must be equal to that of the gallery from out to out. |
3. a. pl. The party which is out of office; the opposition; usually opposed to ins: see in n. 1 a.
| 1764–1884 [see in n. 1 a]. 1810 Edin. Rev. XV. 511 Ins and outs are equally determined to defend corruption. 1885 Graphic 28 Feb. 198/2 The vigilance of the ‘Outs’ affords the most effective of all guarantees for the good behaviour of the ‘Ins’. |
b. An outside passenger on a coach.
| 1844 J. T. J. Hewlett Parsons & W. i, Room for two outs and an in. |
c. pl. In games: The side who are not playing; in Cricket, who are not having their innings (opp. to in n. 1 b); also, the players, on either side, who are not taking part in the scrimmage at Rugby football.
| 1823 M. R. Mitford Our Village (1824) I. 209 He..thinks nothing of contending with both sides, the ins and the outs, secure of out-talking the whole field. 1853 F. Gale Public School Matches 13 The ‘Outs’ are pleased at the steady pace, and the ‘Ins’ are equally pleased with the steady batting. 1895 Westm. Gaz. 7 Nov. 3/2 The feature of the game [Football] was..the brilliant passing of the 'Varsity outs. |
d. colloq. An out-patient at a hospital. So outs, the out-patient department.
| 1933 Partridge Slang To-day & Yesterday iii. iii. 192 Outs, out-patient department. 1964 G. L. Cohen What's Wrong with Hospitals? iv. 76 Distinction between the ‘ins’ and the ‘outs’ is inevitably fading. |
4. a. An outward movement; a going out. rare.
| 1755 Huxham in Phil. Trans. XLIX. 372 The tide had made a very extraordinary out (or recess) almost immediately after high water. |
b. An excursion, outing. dial.
| 1762 Gentl. Mag. 79 A young batchellor would be far from being detrimented by an out of that kind. 1828 Craven Gloss. (ed. 2) s.v., Ye've hed a fine out. 1852 Dickens Bleak Ho. vii, Us London lawyers don't often get an out, and when we do, we like to make the most of it. 1898 Daily News 12 May 6/5 To watch the rustic..thoroughly happy for the time being at his little out. |
c. out and ins, more commonly ins and outs: see in n. 2.
| 1773 Fergusson Poems (1785) 109 He's weel vers'd in a' the laws, Kens baith their outs and ins. 1844 Cross Disruption xxxix, We..canna pretend to understaund a' the oots and ins o' the Kirk question. 1847 Illustr. Lond. News 4 Sept. 158/1 A rather handsome, irregular building; full, in familiar phrase, of ‘outs and ins’. 1865 J. S. Mill in Morn. Star 6 July, He had not considered the outs and ins of the question of marriage with a deceased wife's sister. |
d. An attempt, undertaking; the achievement of a particular result; progress, success; usu. in phr. to make an out. colloq. and dial.
| 1843 H. Y. Webb Diary 4 May in Amer. Speech (1951) XXVI. 183/1 A man..that made half as many good resolutions as I have or made a worse out in sticking to them. 1845 M. M. Noah Gleanings 148 He slipped the fatal jack of diamonds from the bottom of the pack, and claimed the money then in stake... I at first thought him in jest, and laughed at him for making so bungling an out. 1853 J. G. Baldwin Flush Times Alabama 31, I might have made a pretty good out of it, if I had thrown myself upon the merits of my case. 1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northamptonshire Words II. 82 ‘He made a good out of that speculation.’ ‘He made a poor out of his speech.’ 1893 J. Salisbury Gloss. Words SE. Worcestershire 27 ‘Making a goodish out’ or ‘a poorish out’, are terms applied to any undertaking when successful or the reverse. 1904 W. N. Harben Georgians xix. 176 Warren got down on his knees then and actually tried to pray; but he made a pore out. 1938 M. K. Rawlings Yearling xxvi. 347, I often figger I made a sorry out of it, not encouragin' you. 1951 H. E. Giles Harbin's Ridge xv. 125 Let the woman of a house get sick, and it just goes to pieces. In the city, now, a man can make out very well... But in the country he makes a poor out of it when the hub of the house comes down. |
e. Baseball. The act of getting a player out. U.S.
| 1860 in Amer. Speech (1947) XXII. 204/1 Three ‘outs’ and one ‘run’. 1886 H. Chadwick Art of Pitching & Fielding 15 Mere speed costs more in wild pitches, and called and passed balls than it yields in outs or strikes. 1973 N.Y. Herald Tribune Internat. 15 June 15/4 Evans, whose only out in 17 straight appearances was a sacrifice fly, wiped out a 3-2 Pirate lead with his 14th homer. 1974 Index-Jrnl. (Greenwood, S. Carolina) 18 Apr. 10/1 After two outs in the second, winning pitcher Jack Davenport singled and scored when the next three batters walked. |
f. A way out, means of escape; and excuse, defence, alibi. slang (orig. U.S.).
| 1919 R. Lardner Real Dope iii. 79, I am not one of the kind that are looking for an out and trying to hide behind a desk..because I am afraid to go into the trenches. 1926 J. Black You can't Win vi. 69 If a copper grabs you you've got an out. You ain't exactly beggin’. 1934 R. Stout Fer-de-Lance xvii. 287 There are times when I would welcome..an escape from life's meaner responsibilities—what Mr. Goodwin would call an out. 1953 P. Frankau Winged Horse i. i. 4 You like thumbing your nose at common sense... And it gives you an Out from me. 1970 G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard 12 He wanted an out, a plausible story that would extricate his head from the chopping block. 1974 New Yorker 22 Apr. 130/2 Ardent pro-Europeans on Mr. Wilson's team would stand firm..against those ministers who will probably be for rejection of any terms and a quick out. |
5. a. Printing. An omission, or something omitted.
| 1784 B. Franklin in Ann. Reg. (1817) Char. 389 Their forms too are continually pestered by the outs, and doubles, that are not easy to be corrected. 1864 Webster s.v., To make an out, to omit something in setting up copy. |
b. A defect, disadvantage, blemish. colloq. and dial. (chiefly U.S.).
| 1886 E. S. Ward Burglars in Paradise 48 Sound as sense! Hadn't an out about him. 1893 K. A. Sanborn Truthful Woman in S. California 69 Are there no ‘outs’, no defects in this Pasadena? 1917 H. Garland Son of Middle Border xiii. 129 Even hostling had its ‘outs’, especially in spring when the horses were shedding their hair. 1955 W. W. Denlinger Compl. Boston 167 A perfection in one part cannot make up for serious ‘outs’ elsewhere in the whole dog. |
6. pl. Amounts paid out; rates and taxes. local.
| 1884 Sir T. Acland in Pall Mall G. 25 Feb. 2/1 The owner generally pays the ‘outs’; that is, the tithe, land tax, and rates. 1887 Baring-Gould Gaverocks lii. III. 154 Worth in the gross about twelve hundred a year—that is, when all outs were paid, about eight hundred. Mod. (Devonsh.). Rent 5s. a week, the landlord paying all outs. |
7. Phr. at (or at the, on the) outs: at variance or enmity (with someone or something). colloq. and dial.
| 1824 W. Carr Horæ Momenta Cravenæ 97 ‘To be at outs’, is to be at variance. 1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincolnshire 185/2 They fell at outs last Brigg fair was three year, an' hev nivver hed a good wod for one another sin’. 1884 Congress. Rec. 23 Apr. 3326/1 His church and the Unitarians [were] very much at outs. 1915 D. H. Lawrence Rainbow iv. 90 She was always at outs with authority. 1917 G. B. McCutcheon Green Fancy 87 My daughter and I are..what you might say ‘on the outs’ at present. 1928 A. Waugh Nor Many Waters ii. 84 We were at outs pretty badly about that time. And when you're at outs it doesn't take much to send you off. 1936 M. de la Roche Whiteoak Harvest ix. 113 You could scarcely have done a worse thing. Renny and Alayne are at the outs. 1955 W. Gaddis Recognitions iii. i. 732 It's all right, don't explain. I'm on the outs with them too. 1973 J. Porter It's Murder with Dover vii. 67 Soon as he [sc. a cat] gets at outs with one of the guests the old devil's off upstairs making a convenience of the chap's bed. |
▪ III. out, a.
(aʊt)
[out adv. used attrib. by ellipsis of a pple. (as lying or the like), or by taking the predicative use of the adv. (as in ‘which side is out?’) as adj., and using it attrib. (the out side), or by resolution of compounds with out- (e.g. out-worker, out worker). Not distinctly separable from out- in comb. 1–6, q.v.]
1. That is or lies on the outside or external surface of anything; external, exterior. Now usually expressed by outer, outside, external, or written in combination, as out-edge, outside.
| a 1250 Owl & Night. 110 He i-seȝ bi one halve His nest i-fuled ut halve. c 1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 68 Yf hete be mad more..by hote metys and stalworthe, or for oon oute hete þat maystres and ouercomes. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 7706 As þai had bene oute enmys. 1590 Payne Descr. Irel. (1841) 9 Let the out side [of your ditch] be plum upright. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 230 On the out Edge of the Guide. 1887 M. W. Jones Games of Patience vii. 18 If two or three are..in the four ‘out’ cards, you are brought to a standstill. |
2. a. Outlying, situated on the outer border, or at a distance outside some place in question.
| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 3909 Bade hir..fflee with hir childire..Aþere in to Irelande, in to thas owte mowntes. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. 658 Thenne the Kentysshemen..came vnto the out parties of the cytie of London, as Radclyffe, Seynt Katherynes, and other places, and robbyd & spoyled the Flemynges, & all the berehowses. 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. 9 The lordes tenauntes haue commen in all suche out groundes with their catell. 1596 Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 666/2, I greatly dislike the Lord Deputyes seating at Dublin, being the outest corner in the realme, and least needing the awe of his presence. 1688 Connect. Col. Rec. (1859) III. 438, I lately wrott you about Watching and Warding in your out townes. 1726 Ayliffe Parergon 162 Judiciel Offices in the out Parts of his Diocess. |
b. out island (out isle), an isle or island lying away from the mainland. Hence out islander. (Often hyphened.)
Applied esp. to the Shetlands, Orkneys, Hebrides, and other smaller isles at a distance from the mainland of Britain; formerly sometimes to the British Isles as a whole, in reference to their situation with regard to the Continent; also (often with capital initials) spec. any of the outlying islands of the Bahamas (see quot. 1957).
| a 1340 Ercyldoun's Proph. in Rel. Ant. I. 30 To nyȝt is boren a barn in Kaernervam, That ssal weld the out ydlis ylc an. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 30 Orgayle and Orkenay, and alle this owte iles. 1470–85 Malory Arthur vii. xxvii, Soo the crye was made in England walis and scotland, Ireland, Cornewaille, & in alle the oute Iles. a 1568 R. Ascham Toxoph. To Gentlem. Eng. (Arb.) 16 The out yles lying betwixt Grece and Asia minor. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 400 Alswell the out Yillis as ferme land. 1586 Hooker Girald. Irel. in Holinshed II. 104/1 The earle of Lennox stood in hope, that the lord of the out Isles would aid him. 1599 Hakluyt Voy. II. 168 Cephalonia..is an out Iland in the dominions of Grecia. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit., Scot. 54 Purposing to speake of the out-Isles, Orcades, Hebudes, or Hebrides, and of Shetland in their due place. 1875 Encycl. Brit. III. 238/1 The inhabitants of the out⁓islands were reduced to indigence and want. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 19 Jan. 2/1 To the more adventurous there lie the out-islands,..little explored. 1957 Encycl. Brit. II. 928/1 New Providence.., although not one of the larger islands, is the most important..; the others are known collectively as the Out Islands. 1971 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Doctor Bird i. 6 A former minor Ambassador..living on one of the Bahamian out-islands. 1971 Bahamas XXIII. iii. 20 Bahamian Out Islanders are among the world's friendliest people. 1973 Whitaker's Almanack 1974 775/1 There are a General Post Office in Nassau, 4 branch offices in New Providence and 109 sub⁓offices in the Out Islands. |
3. In cricket, football, etc.: Played out, or away from the home ground; played in the outer parts of the field. (Often hyphened.)
| 1884 Lillywhite's Cricket Ann. 63 The result mainly of creditable out cricket. 1896 Daily News 2 Mar. 5/1 Surrey and Lancashire..lost only one out match apiece. |
† 4. Prominent, projecting, protruding. Obs.
| 1652 Gaule Magastrom. 186 An out breast. Ibid., High or out shoulders. |
5. Beyond the usual or normal (size): see outsize n. and a.).
† 6. To be paid out. Obs.
| 1475 Marg. Paston in P. Lett. III. 126 He seth that be than that the owt chargys be boryn, and the repracion of the myll at Wyntyrton, we ar lyke to have but lytyll mor mony besyd the barly. 1482 Brasenose Coll. Munim. M. 10 (Wycombe) To pay all maner of out charges and rentes. |
7. Unfashionable; opp. in a. 2.
| 1966 Punch 29 June 946/1 Nowhere have I come across a word of guidance for the ‘out’ crowd—the vast, non⁓swinging, switched-off, palateless, utterly without-it lot who dominate the community. 1969 Daily Tel. 24 July 17/6 They [sc. children] want to eat savoury things most of all; but there are certain ‘in’ sweet-stuffs and a very great many ‘out’ ones. |
▪ IV. out, v.
[OE. {uacu}tian = OFris. ûtia, OHG. ûȥôn, MHG. ûȥen to put out, f. {uacu}t, out adv. Perh. formed anew in ME., and in later senses closely related to senses 13, 14 of the adv.]
1. a. trans. To put out, turn out, drive out, expel, eject, reject, get rid of, discharge, dismiss, oust (from a place, office, possession, etc.); to do out or deprive (of a possession). Usually with personal obj. Also with double obj. (by omission of from or of); cf. dismiss, expel. Frequent in 17th and 18th c. Cf. also outed.
| 1008 Laws of æthelred v. c. 10 æniᵹ man..ciric-þen ne utiᵹe, buton biscopes ᵹeþehte. 1440 [see outing vbl. n. 2]. 15.. Tretyse agayne the Pestelens (MS. Adv. Lib.) (Jam. Suppl.), Ilk ane of thaim [the heart, the liver, and the brain], has his clengyng plas, quhar he may out his superfluities and cleng him. 1598 Kitchin Courts Leet (1675) 261 The Lord by Knights-service..might have outed a Farmer. 1602 W. Fulbecke 1st Pt. Parall. 61 By this plea the Court shall bee outed of iurisdiction. a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) II. 363 When he is once outed of his Ears, he is past his Labour. 1685 H. More Paralip. Prophet. xxxix. 339 Outing them of all Political Power in Church or State. 1711 Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) III. 201 The Bp. of Winchester designing to out him. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. iii. ii. (1869) I. 394 They could..be legally outed of their lease. 1823 Galt Gilhaize xvi, Outing her ministers from their kirks and manses. 1927 H. A. Vachell Dew of Sea 269 I'll out 'em both, even if it breaks the contract. 1941 E. R. Eddison Fish Dinner vii. 103 Should a been unlorded long since, outed of all his hopes, for's misgovernment. 1942 E. Waugh Put Out More Flags ii. 137 It was just a question of outing those fellows in the government. Sir Joseph had seen many governments outed... He'd soon out Hitler if he were alive and a German. 1968 Daily Mirror 27 Aug. 7/3 No one throws things away any more. They ‘out’ them. |
b. To put out; extinguish; blot out; abolish. So out pipes (Naut.), to cease smoking pipes; also as n. (see quots.).
| 1502 Ord. Crysten Men (W. de W. 1506) i. iv. 40 Also the water quenched & owteth the thyrst. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis i. (Arb.) 41 Thee night with brightnes is owted. 1621 Quarles Argalus & P. (1678) 77 Witness that Taper, whose prophetick snuff Was outed and revived with one puff. 1653 in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 167 That the same Wryting bee utterly outed made null and voyde. 1899 Daily News 30 Jan. 6/4 The water flooded high the stoke-holes, outing the fires. 1900 Black & White Budget 1 Sept. 684/1 The times set apart for smoking are generally from noon till about 1.15, when the marine drummer beats a long roll on his drum as a signal to ‘Out-pipes’. 1916 ‘Taffrail’ Pincher Martin ii. 25 At one-ten the bugle sounded ‘Out pipes’, and the decks were cleared up. 1950 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xiv. 50 Out,..to extinguish, as a lamp, a fire. 1961 F. H. Burgess Dict. Sailing 154 Out pipes, the order to stop smoking. |
c. slang (orig. pugilistic): To ‘knock out’ or disable (an opponent); hence, To render insensible, or kill, by a blow; also, to murder.
| 1896 Daily News 15 June 7/1 The slang of the prize ring, where ‘outing’ a man signifies to render him insensible. 1898 Pink 'Un & Pelican 86 (Farmer) Gently, my lad, gently,..yer don't want to knock 'im out yet; give us a little show o' yer quality afore you outs him. 1899 Daily News 11 Sept. 7/3 ‘Come on lads, shall we out him?’ Immediately after Nash rushed at the constable and struck him a heavy blow on the back of the head. 1900 G. R. Sims In London's Heart xlviii. 294 He glanced contemptuously at the prostate form of his accomplice. ‘Looks like I've outed him,’ he said. ‘Good job if I have—he'll never blab again.’ 1913 E. C. Bentley Trent's Last Case ii. 27 The body not being robbed looks interesting, but he may have been outed by some wretched tramp. 1915 E. Corri 30 Yrs. Boxing Ref. 221 Lewis..promptly hit him a terrific punch on the point. ‘Outed’ by bluff! 1927 E. Wallace Feathered Serpent xviii. 229 I've heard fellers in Dartmoor say that if ever they got the chance they'd ‘out’ him. |
d. In a ball game, esp. lawn tennis: to send (the ball) outside the court or playing area.
| 1865 W. S. Banks List Provincial Words Wakefield 3 Ahted, put out. ‘Ahted t'first ball.’ 1927 Daily Express 22 June 2/2 Raymond, striving for extra speed, netted and outed a succession of returns. 1928 Ibid. 5 July 11/4 He outed and netted two drives. |
e. In cricket: to put or declare (a batsman) out. ? Obs.
| 1899 Captain I. 517/1 Never forget that there are other ways of outing a man besides clean bowling him. 1906 Daily Tel. 23 Aug. 9/7 Myers went in, but was almost immediately ‘outed’ under singular circumstances. |
† 2. To set out, expose (for sale, disposal, etc.); to put out, issue. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Wife's Prol. 521 With daunger oute [v. rr. outen, outer, owten] we al oure chaffare Greet prees at Market maketh deere ware. 1637 Rutherford Lett., to M. Mowat (1671) 55 A calling..to out Christ, and his wares, to countrey buyers. a 1670 Spalding Troub. Chas. I (1851) II. 101 This Farquhar outit his myttie meill upone the honest people of the toun at ane heighe price. |
3. To show forth, disclose, exhibit; to speak out, utter, vent. Obs. exc. dial.
| 13.. Eufrosyne 428 in Englische Studien I. 308 God wol not outen hire. 13.. Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. (E.E.T.S.) 530/136 Þi counseil is outet openliche. c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 281 Who that listeth outen [v.r. outyn] his folie, Lat hym come forth and lerne multiplie. a 1420 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 1907 Outë thyn art if þou canst craftily. c 1422 ― Jonathas & Fellicula 43 Til he of wommen oute wordes wikke. 1822 Hibbert Descr. Shetland (1891) 282 (E.D.D.) For outting of your malice. 1838 Hogg Tales (1866) 363 (E.D.D.) The fine flavour..soon outed the secret. |
4. intr. [From the elliptical use in out adv. 13, from which this differs in taking inflexions.]
a. To go out, esp. on a pleasure excursion. Also to out it. colloq. (Cf. outing vbl. n.)
| 1846 P. Parley's Ann. VII. 65 The sun is shining, And nought confining Pedestrians from ‘outing’. 1878 Stevenson Inland Voy. 191 We met dozens of pleasure-boats outing it for the afternoon. 1894 Doyle Mem. S. Holmes 33 With that he ups and he outs. |
b. to out with: To come out with; to fetch or bring out; to utter. colloq.
| 1802 R. & M. Edgeworth Irish Bulls x. 136, I outs with my bread-earner. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 34 And Hodge..Outs with his pence the pleasing song to buy. 1833 Blackw. Mag. XXXIII. 693 He outs carelessly with another duodecimo. 1870 Spurgeon Treas. David Ps. xli. 6 He is no sooner out of the house than he outs with his lie. 1896 G. B. Shaw Let. 11 Feb. (1965) I. 596 There is something fundamentally unfriendly in having a grievance and not outing with it. 1942 W. Faulkner Go Down, Moses 167 The negro he was shooting at outed with a dollar-and-a-half mail-order pistol..only it never went off. 1975 Bookseller 17 May 2540/1, I was just getting ready to say that as sometime chief solo-boy at Exeter College, Oxford, I was as good as Ernest Lough, when McCarry outed with: ‘My Hear My Prayer was very sweet.’ |
c. Of information, news, etc.: to become known. dial.
| 1893–4 R. O. Heslop Northumb. Words II. 515 ‘It suin outed’—became commonly known. 1905 E. Phillpotts Secret Woman i. ix. 87 Yet it outed as she'd said ‘no’ to him. |
▪ V. out, prep.
[Prepositional use of the adv. instead of the usual out of prep. phr., q.v. Cf. Ger. aus, Du. uit prep. See also oute.]
1. From within, away from: = out of 1.
Not current in Received Standard in the U.K. but common in dial., and in various regions abroad. Several of the examples are U.S., Austral., and N.Z.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2311 Quuan he weren ut tune went, Iosep haueð hem after sent. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 197 Whan that the sunne out the south gan weste. 1545 T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde 100 It wyll not conueniently yssue oute that narowe place. 1607 Shakes. Cor. v. ii. 41 When you haue pusht out your gates the very Defender of them. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 206 ¶4 Not endeavour at any Progress out that Tract. 1875 G. W. Dasent Vikings III. 165 Sigmund Brestir's son..sprang out the waist of their ship. 1889 M. E. Wilkins Far away Melody (1891) 108 Going out the door, he stopped and listened a minute. 1926 A. G. McAdie Man & Weather 19 The ship would make easier weather by proceeding out the western entrance. 1958 Otago Daily Times 24 Feb. 5/2 He flew out the side of the cloud to warmer air. 1960 M. Spark Bachelors x. 150 You should of pushed him out the nest long ago. 1961 Coast to Coast 1959–60 34 During this time he had tried to throw everything movable out the ward⁓room window. 1962 Amer. Speech XXXVII. 269 To drive with the left arm out the window. 1967 Southerly XXVII. 75 She looked out the window..at all the other houses. 1968 K. Weatherly Roo Shooter 111 Sam was really crook, leaning out the window spewing. 1969 Listener 31 July 162/2 Schoenberg kept the 12 notes we ended up with but threw the hierarchy out the window. 1969 Eugene (Oregon) Register-Guard 3 Dec. 1D/1 ‘And,’ continued Belko, ‘that's when our whole plan went out the window.’ 1972 D. E. Westlake Cops & Robbers (1973) iii. 46 He looked out the windshield. 1973 Black World Aug. 55/2 He slid on back out the kitchen door. 1975 New Yorker 29 Sept. 43/2 Mrs. Santana and her children contribute to the refuse by throwing their trash and garbage out their windows. |
2. Outside, without, beyond the limits of, beyond (lit. and fig.): = out of prep. phr. 8, 9. Obs. or dial.
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 1640 Mornyng out mesure to melior he wendes. 1542–3 Act 34 & 35 Hen. VIII, c. 18 Any other person..inhabiting out the liberte of the said citie. 1607 Shakes. Timon iv. i. 38 Both within and out that Wall. a 1658 Cleveland Content 65 Shall I then..Live in, and out the World? 1883 Howells Woman's Reason (Tauchn. 1884) I. 240 Its history..could not be known out the family. |
† 3. Without, not with (L. sine). Obs. rare.
| c 1430 Freemasonry 378 May sclawndren hys felows oute reson. 1578 Cooper Thesaurus, Sine arbitrio,..to doe a thing alone out witnesse. |
† 4. Throughout, to the end of. Obs. rare.
| 1692 Locke Educ. §129 Having whipped his Top lustily, quite out all the time that is set him. |
▪ VI. out, int.
[f. out adv. (see sense 13).]
1. As an imperative exclamation, with ellipsis of verb: see out adv. 13.
2. An exclamation expressing lamentation, abhorrence, or indignant reproach; often conjoined with alas! or harrow! arch. or dial.
| c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 639 Vp stirte hire Alison and Nicholay And criden out and harrow in the strete. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 375/2 Owte, owt, at, at, interjectio. c 1485 Digby Myst. ii. 433 Ho, owȝt, owȝt! alas, thys sodayne chance! 1566 Painter Pal. Pleas. II. 87 Alas and out alas I crye, that I shall see no more. 1575 R. B. Appius & V. in Hazl. Dodsley IV. 128 But out, I am wounded. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. vii. 54 Out, out, (Lucetta) that wilbe illfauord. 1674 Playford Skill Mus. i. 70 Venus cryeth for her son, Out alass she is undone. 1816 Scott Antiq. xx, I see the men..that are come ower late to part ye; but, out and alack! sune eneugh and ower sune to drag ye to prison. |
b. out upon (on), expressing abhorrence or reproach. (Cf. fie upon.) arch. or dial.
| 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) i. vii. 6 Lete us cryen a rowe, and oute upon them all. c 1430 Syr Tryam. 78 ‘Owt upon the, thefe!’ sche seyde. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 119 b, They crie, Out upon him Heretike, to the fyre with hym. 1616 Hayward Sanct. Troub. Soul ii. i. (1620) 7 Out vpon me wretched soule! full both of vanity, and of ignorance. 1742 Richardson Pamela III. 188 Nor the Censures, and many Out-upon-you's of the attentive Ladies. 1838 James Robber vi, ‘Out upon the fool!’ exclaimed the housekeeper. 1878 Geo. Eliot Coll. Breakf. P. 614 Out on them all! |
▪ VII. out
obs. form of ought, aught.