bail out

British  

verb

1. (intr) to make an emergency parachute jump from an aircraft

2. informal (tr) to help (a person, organization, etc) out of a predicament

   the government bailed the company out

3. informal (intr) to escape from a predicament

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bail out Idioms  

1. Empty water out of a boat, usually by dipping with a bucket or other container. For example, We had to keep bailing out water from this leaky canoe . [Early 1600s]

2. Rescue someone in an emergency, especially a financial crisis of some kind, as in They were counting on an inheritance to bail them out . [ Colloquial ; 1900s]

3. Jump out of an airplane, using a parachute. For example, When the second engine sputtered, the pilot decided to bail out . [c. 1930]

4. Give up on something, abandon a responsibility, as in The company was not doing well, so John decided to bail out while he could still find another job . [Second half of 1900s]

5. See make bail .

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Example Sentences

For Western competitors, it has meant more tension, squeezing their profits and forcing some to consolidate or bail out of certain markets.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

Defense technology operations, along with aerospace and artificial intelligence, have flocked to California, even as retail and fast-food chains bail out of the Golden State.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2026

Beijing is Islamabad's closest regional ally, readily providing financial assistance to bail out its often struggling neighbour.

From Barron's • Feb. 17, 2026

And if things go wrong it would fall to Belgium to bail out Euroclear.

From BBC • Dec. 12, 2025

Selden explained that he had paid her bail out of his own bank account.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

Related Words

• relieve
• rescue