out of

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English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English oute of, from Old English ūt of.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈaʊt əv/, (before a consonant usually) /ˈaʊtə/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -aʊtə

Preposition

out of

  1. Expressing motion away, literal or figurative; opposed to into.
    1. From the inside to the outside of. [from 5th c.]
      The audience came out of the theater.
      The cat jumped out of the basket.
    2. So as no longer to be in a given condition or state. [from 10th c.]
      I have fallen out of love with you.
      They will soon be out of business.
      This train will be going out of service at the next station.
    3. (informal) From a thing or or place as a source, place of origin etc. [from 12th c.]
      He ate out of a big bowl.
      Turns out he's some rapper out of New York called Buster Bigmouth.
      • 1997, New York, volume 30, number 31, page 33:
        Mike Morgillo, a cop out of the Bronx borough command — who is married to a detective — says he's sick of sitting around other cops' backyards hearing the same old he-shot, she-shot stories.
    4. (nautical) Stating the port in which a boat has been registered.
      There's the Titanic out of Liverpool.
    5. Taken from among; expressing a fraction of (a larger number). [from 15th c.]
      Only three out of a thousand are born with this rare disease.
      Out of the entire class, only Cynthia completed the work.
    6. (now chiefly horse breeding) Born from a given mother (cf. by). [from 19th c.]
      She's a lovely little filly, by Big Lad, out of Damsel in Distress.
  2. Expressing position outside, literal or figurative; opposed to in.
    1. Not within a given space, area etc. [from 10th c.]
      His feet rested out of the water.
      Is your mother out of hospital?
    2. Not in (a given state, condition). [from 13th c.]
      I'm rather out of practice right now.
      He cannot see you because he's feeling out of spirits today.
    3. Without; no longer in possession of. [from 15th c.]
      Sorry, we're out of bread.
  3. From a given cause or motivation. [from 13th c.]
    I laughed out of embarrassment.
    She only did it out of love for him.
    She asked the question out of mere curiosity.
  4. From a given material as means of construction. [from 14th c.]
    It's made out of mahogany.
  5. (informal) In a manner based in but not always in (a certain place); (loosely) in.
    They're out of Tampa and they cover the Southeast.
    He works out of the main office.
    • 2007, Raven Womack, The Raven's Flight Book of Incense, Oils, Potions and Brews, page 107:
      This company, based out of England has a full line of magickal products but I can really on[sic] comment on their charcoal incense.
    • 2015, Alan C. Turley, Urban Culture: Exploring Cities and Cultures, page 81:
      The first major radio networks were based out of New York, and these chains of radio stations would broadcast the same programs that would originate from New York to its subsidiary stations across the nation.
  6. (often informal) expression of how distant a person, an event or object is.
    Five months out of the election
    Several yards out of the ocean

Synonyms

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Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

References

  • “out of”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
  • Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Bounded landmarks", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8
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