get out while the getting is good

Idioms

Leave while one can or has the chance to, as in He just had a good offer from a rival firm and decided to get out while the getting is good. This colloquial phrase uses get out in the sense of “escape” or “depart.”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He wants to get out while the getting is good.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 28, 2019

In short, she plans to get out while the getting is good, an attitude shared by my mother whose need for control made the Parkinson’s endgame intolerable.

From Salon • May 25, 2011

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023