Home US English go out

Definition of go out in English:

go out

See synonyms for go out

Translate go out into Spanish

phrasal verb

  • 1(of a fire or light) be extinguished.

    ‘a few minutes later the lights went out’
    • ‘Tal saw the light from the fire go out, and decided that it would be wise to return to his own hut.’
    • ‘I think the street lights went out too - it was pitch black.’
    • ‘Then all the lights went out and the building was blacked out.’
    • ‘The outage caused a minor accident on Main Street late on Tuesday morning after two vehicles collided at Lumber Avenue when the traffic lights went out.’
    • ‘‘There was a loud thump, then the lights went out and everybody started screaming,’ she said.’
    • ‘Then at 5.10 pm, and just as the valiant efforts of the groundstaff had started to make the pitch look playable, the lights went out.’
    • ‘Suddenly, all of the lights went out, it was pitch dark, and I couldn't even see anything.’
    • ‘He had been in a meeting when the building shook, there was an explosion, half the lights went out and the air conditioning stopped working.’
    • ‘When the audience had settled, the auditorium lights went out.’
    • ‘The lights went out on about a thousand customers this morning, including City Hall.’
    be turned off, be extinguished
    View synonyms
    1. 1.1Cease operating or functioning.
      ‘the power went out on our block last night’
      • ‘The house did not suffer any structural damage but when the lightning hit the house there was an enormous bang, the fuses blew and the power went.’
      • ‘I was riding my scooter down a steep hill, with a pillion passenger on the back, when the brake cable went.’
      • ‘The electricity is gone, and food and water are running out.’
      be used up, be spent, be finished, be at an end, be exhausted, be consumed, be drained, be depleted
      View synonyms

  • 2(of the tide) ebb; recede to low tide.

    ‘the tide was going out’
    • ‘Water subsided in some areas as the tide went out but the diversion signs were back up again at high tide on Thursday morning and Thursday evening.’
    • ‘As the tide went out yesterday, cavalcades of cars and transit vans poured into the area, with a Spanish lorry parked at Bardsea and a ship on standby in the bay waiting to be loaded.’
    • ‘Otherwise they would have suffered another two and a half hour wait before the tide went out again, by which time it would have been dark.’
    • ‘The thing is, we didn't realise that the tide went out so far.’
    • ‘Six hours after they were stranded, the tide went out and the couple walked to safety.’
    • ‘Hundreds bathed, and the tide went out so far that the harbour at low water was empty.’
    • ‘Sharon, who has been teaching English in Thailand for three years, was on the beach near her hotel when she noticed the tide had suddenly gone out.’
    • ‘He says he and a friend were just about to go snorkeling when they noticed the tide had gone out much farther than usual.’
    • ‘Within an hour and a half the tide had gone out again and the clean-up operation began in earnest.’
    • ‘We try going along south along Shore Road, having decided the tide was going out, but it appears to be coming back in, and is blocking the road ahead.’
    recede, go out, retreat, flow back, draw back, fall back, fall away, abate, subside
    View synonyms

  • 3Leave one's home to go to an entertainment or social event, typically in the evening.

    ‘I'm going out for dinner’
    • ‘I hardly ever go out’
    • ‘I wasn't a very social person, nor did I enjoy social events or going out on the town.’
    • ‘My job is quite social, and everybody goes out after work.’
    • ‘Poor levels of lighting had been making elderly residents reluctant to go out at night to events in the Butler Community Centre or even to the local shops.’
    • ‘We don't wear our uniforms (they're only for ceremonial events) when we go out incognito.’
    • ‘This afternoon we did something we've never done before: we went out for Thanksgiving dinner, with my parents.’
    • ‘Justin and I went out to dinner last night, to our favorite restaurant.’
    • ‘We went out to dinner one night, but the cuisine didn't agree with me.’
    • ‘Stuffing her cell phone into her purse she darted down the stairs and out the door before her mother could ask her why she was going out at nine on a school night.’
    • ‘Milen Muskov is an engineer who graduated in journalism and describes himself as a modern young man interested in films, football and going out with friends.’
    • ‘The 18 year-old said he didn't know as yet what he wanted to do after school, but there was one thing for certain he was going out with his friends to celebrate his results.’

  • 4Carry on a regular romantic or sexual relationship.

    ‘he was going out with her best friend’
    • ‘we had been going out for two months’
    see, take out, be someone's boyfriend, be someone's girlfriend, be romantically involved with, go around with, keep company
    View synonyms

  • 5Used to convey someone's deep sympathy or similar feeling.

    ‘the boy's heart went out to the pitiful figure’
    • ‘our thoughts go out to his friends and family’
    • ‘Our deepest sympathies go out to the victims and the families of all those involved.’
    • ‘Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to his family and fiends.’
    • ‘‘We have expressed our sympathies to the family involved and our heart goes out to them at this very sad time,’ he said.’
    • ‘And I often meet with the parents of soldiers who were killed in action, and my heartfelt sympathy goes out to all of them.’
    • ‘My heartfelt sympathy goes out to all the families who have lost sons and husbands, fathers, brothers.’
    • ‘He will be missed dearly, and our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences go out to his wonderful family.’
    • ‘Our sympathy and prayers go out to them all on this anniversary of Kieran's death.’
    • ‘My heartfelt sympathies go out to the family, but also to the driver of the vehicle.’
    • ‘As Sam drove, he listened to Jimmy, and his heart went out to the boy.’
    • ‘Rolf's heart went out to the little boy and he reached out and touched his cheek.’

  • 6Golf
    Play the first nine holes in a round of eighteen holes.

    Compare with come home (see home)

    ‘McAllister went out in 43’
    • ‘Faldo, playing with Ian Poulter, one of the next generation of English young guns, got off to a great start with birdies at the second and fourth holes to go out in 34.’
    • ‘When I bogeyed those three holes going out, I was a bit concerned but I held it together after that.’

  • 7(in some card games) be the first to dispose of all the cards in one's hand.

    ‘a player may not go out unless his side has completed at least one canasta’
    • ‘The play ends when a player goes out, i.e. disposes of all the cards in hand.’
    • ‘As a further development of the above ideas, some players do not allow a player to go out by discarding a card that could have been melded.’
    • ‘Getting rid of your last card is called going out.’
    • ‘If a player is going out (no cards left), discard is not necessary.’
    • ‘Players score for cards melded according to the point values printed on the cards, and are penalised for unmelded cards when another player goes out.’
    • ‘When only a few cards are left in the stock and it is your turn to go perhaps overdraw from it to get the cards you need to go out if you may manage it.’
    • ‘In these games, you do not necessarily have to form all your cards into sets to go out.’
    • ‘When a player goes out, by disposing of all their cards, the other players score penalty points for all the cards remaining in their hands.’
    • ‘To go out you meld all of your cards, or all except one, which you discard.’
    • ‘You go out by melding all your cards except one, and discarding the last card.’