bailout

or bail-out

[ beyl-out ]

noun
  1. the act of parachuting from an aircraft, especially to escape a crash, fire, etc.

  2. an instance of coming to the rescue, especially financially: a government bailout of a large company.

  1. an alternative, additional choice, or the like: If the highway is jammed, you have two side roads as bailouts.

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or consisting of means for relieving an emergency situation: bailout measures for hard-pressed smallbusinesses.

Origin of bailout

1
First recorded in 1950–55; noun and adjective use of the verb phrase bail out

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bailout in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bailout (1 of 2)

bailout

/ (ˈbeɪlaʊt) /


noun
  1. an act of bailing out, usually by the government, of a failing institution or business

British Dictionary definitions for bail out (2 of 2)

bail out

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

  2. (tr) informal to help (a person, organization, etc) out of a predicament: the government bailed the company out

  1. (intr) informal to escape from a predicament

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with bailout

bailout

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]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.