go out
Britishverb
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to depart from a room, house, country, etc
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to cease to illuminate, burn, or function
the fire has gone out
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to cease to be fashionable or popular
that style went out ages ago!
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to become unconscious or fall asleep
she went out like a light
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(of a broadcast) to be transmitted
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to go to entertainments, social functions, etc
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to associate (with a person of the opposite sex) regularly; date
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(of workers) to begin to strike
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(foll by to) to be extended (to)
our sympathy went out to her on the death of her sister
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cards to get rid of the last card, token, etc, in one's hand
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to make a great effort to achieve or obtain something
he went all out to pass the exam
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Be extinguished, as in All the lights went out . [c. 1400]
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Die; also, faint. For example, I want to go out before I become senile , or At the sight of blood he went out like a light . The first usage dates from about 1700 and was at first put go out of the world . For the variant, see under out cold .
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Take part in social life outside the home, as in We go out a lot during the holiday season . This usage dates from the second half of the 1700s and gave rise to go out with someone , meaning “to date someone.”
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Stop working, as in To show their support of the auto workers, the steel workers went out too . This expression is short for go out on strike . [Late 1800s]
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Become unfashionable, as in Bell-bottom pants went out in the 1970s but made a comeback in the 1990s. This usage is sometimes amplified to go out of fashion or go out of style , as in This kind of film has gone out of fashion , or These boots are going out of style . [Late 1400s]
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Cease to function as before. This sense appears in go out of print , said of a book that will no longer be printed. Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with go out .
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.
"I used to go out walking with my uncle when he was in his 80s and 90s," he explained.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
Which makes Seinfeld’s “artistically correct” comedic instinct to go out on top at least five times more valuable in the long run than Welch’s then-massive offer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
While a roommate with a car and a similar income struggled financially, Renteria found he could afford to go out with friends and enjoy the city, even while working part-time jobs.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026
"They don't go out, they can't go to work... It's constant psychological pressure, and it affects the whole community," the 47-year-old told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
Then we’d go out and try to count them.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.