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• down-and-out
  down-and-out

  adjective

  without any money, or means of support, or prospects; destitute; penniless.
• down and out
  down and out

  Lacking funds or prospects; destitute, penniless. For example, After losing his job, car, and home, he was completely down and out. This term probably originated in boxing, where it alludes to the fighter who is knocked down and stays down for a given time, thereby losing the bout. [c. 1900] Also see down for the count.

down-and-out

American  

[doun-uhnd-out, -uhn] / ˈdaʊn əndˈaʊt, -ən /

adjective

1. without any money, or means of support, or prospects; destitute; penniless.

2. without physical strength or stamina; disabled; incapacitated.

3. too physically weakened by repeated defeats to qualify as a competent professional boxer.

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noun

1. Also down-and-outer. a person who is down-and-out.

down-and-out British  

adjective

1. without any means of livelihood; impoverished and, often, socially outcast

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noun

1. a person who is destitute and, often, homeless; a social outcast or derelict

down and out Idioms  

1. Lacking funds or prospects; destitute, penniless. For example, After losing his job, car, and home, he was completely down and out. This term probably originated in boxing, where it alludes to the fighter who is knocked down and stays down for a given time, thereby losing the bout. [c. 1900] Also see down for the count.

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Etymology

Origin of down-and-out

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

down-and-out down and out

A humble, determined man, his remarkable rise is rooted in his resilience and the belief of a select few people who saw something in a down-and-out kid searching for his big break.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

Much to my surprise, Radcliffe more than steps up as a down-and-out documentarian inserted into the life of a disgraced football star grasping for a comeback.

From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026

If the New York Knicks—the most dismal, down-and-out franchise of the past half-century—were going to win their first NBA championship since 1973, it would require a zillion things to break just right.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026

And now it’s a problem, because the once down-and-out Phillies are revived and refreshed and believing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025

Mr. Pickwell had brought home a down-and-out shoe salesman in sore need of sympathy and a good meal.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli

He’s so down and out and I wanted to find different source music in there.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026

People say it is down and out, but it was packed.

From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026

We don’t know much about him except that he’s only interested in keeping his head down and out of trouble.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2025

Barcelona have been disappointing but only because they have been made to be because they have been closed down and out thought by Chelsea.

From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2024

They climbed down and out of the dike and through a gap in the wall, and then Tom turned due north, for they had been bearing somewhat to the west.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien