out

adverb

1》 moving away from a place, especially from one that is enclosed to one that is open.

    ↘outdoors.

    ↘no longer in prison.

2》 situated far or at a particular distance from somewhere: a farm out in the middle of nowhere.

    ↘to sea, away from the land.

    ↘(of the tide) falling or at its lowest level.

    ↘at a specified distance away from the goal or a finishing line.

3》 in a public place for pleasure or entertainment.

4》 so as to be revealed, heard, or known.

5》 at or to an end.

    ↘so as to be finished.

6》 (of a light or fire) so as to be extinguished or no longer burning.

preposition non-standard contraction of out of.

adjective

1》 not at home or one's place of work.

2》 made public; revealed.

    ↘published.

    ↘informal in existence or use.

    ↘open about one's homosexuality.

3》 no longer existing.

    ↘no longer in fashion.

4》 not possible or worth considering.

5》 unconscious.

6》 mistaken: he was slightly out in his calculations.

7》 (of the ball in tennis, squash, etc.) outside the playing area.

8》 Cricket & Baseball no longer batting.

9》 (of a flower) open.

noun

1》 informal a way of escaping from a difficult situation.

2》 Baseball an act of putting a player out.

verb

1》 informal reveal the homosexuality of.

2》 knock out.

3》 dated expel or dismiss.

Phrases

at outs (N. Amer. on the outs) in dispute.

out and about engaging in normal activity after an illness.

out for intent on having.

out of

1》 from (a place or source).

2》 not having (something).

out of it informal

1》 not included.

2》 unaware of what is happening.

    ↘Brit. drunk.

out to do something keenly striving to do something.

out with it say what you are thinking.

Origin

OE ūt (adverb), ūtian (v.), of Gmc origin.

Usage

The use of out rather than out of as a preposition, as in he threw it out the window, is common in informal contexts, but is not widely accepted in standard British English.