bailout

or bail-out

[ beyl-out ]

/ ˈbeɪlˌaʊt /

Save This Word!

noun

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

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

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

adjective

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

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of bailout

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

Words nearby bailout

bailiff, bailiwick, Baillie, bailment, bailor, bailout, bailsman, bail up, Baily, Baily's beads, Bainbridge

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use bailout in a sentence

Weeks after a federal bailout helped Metro veer away from a fiscal crisis, the transit agency plans to borrow $360 million through bond sales to expedite construction projects officials say will make the system safer.
Metro seeks bond sales to raise $360 million for capital projects|Justin George|February 10, 2021|Washington Post
They also say the bucks are expensive bailouts for badly managed Blue States.
State Budgets Are In Tatters. Republicans in Washington Say Too Bad|Philip Elliott|February 4, 2021|Time
As head of the San Francisco Fed more than a decade ago, she sided with Wells Fargo on a question of whether banks were stable enough to resume paying dividends after the financial crisis and bank bailouts.
The Return of the Regulators|by Jesse Eisinger|February 2, 2021|ProPublica
Experts have long feared that the weight of that ever-rising mountain of euros is so great only a Greece-like bailout can keep Italy from exiting the common currency.
The U.S. now has a debt level that rivals Italy’s|Shawn Tully|January 14, 2021|Fortune

The federal bailout was a needed injection for households and several industries, but it didn’t directly provide financial help to local governments served by the Metro system.
Metro to lower its annual subsidy request from Washington-area jurisdictions|Justin George|January 12, 2021|Washington Post
The bailout crybabies of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and all the rest are easy targets—and deserving ones, too.
How Naive is Elizabeth Warren?|Nick Gillespie|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ex-AIG CEO Maurice ‘Hank’ Greenberg is in court seeking $40 billion from the government over its massive bailout.
Remember the $182 Billion AIG Bailout? It Just Wasn’t Generous Enough|Daniel Gross|October 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The solution was a bailout—of AIG, and of the financial system as a whole.
Remember the $182 Billion AIG Bailout? It Just Wasn’t Generous Enough|Daniel Gross|October 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 1998, when the hedge fund Long Term Capital Management blew up, the New York Fed helped organize a $3.65 billion bailout.
The Incredible 'Wussiness' Of The Fed Vs Goldman Sachs—Caught On Tape|Daniel Gross|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Five months later, the New York Fed tried (without success) to organize a bailout of Lehman Brothers.
The Incredible 'Wussiness' Of The Fed Vs Goldman Sachs—Caught On Tape|Daniel Gross|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for bailout (1 of 2)

bailout

/ (ˈbeɪlaʊt) /

noun

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

British Dictionary definitions for bailout (2 of 2)

bail out

bale out

verb (adverb)

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

(tr) informal to help (a person, organization, etc) out of a predicamentthe government bailed the company out

(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

bail out

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]

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]

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

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]

See make bail.