in-and-out
Americanadjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of in-and-out
First recorded in 1640–50, for an earlier sense
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.
Late Wednesday, a sort of crypto jury that handles Polymarket disputes ruled that the quick, in-and-out rescue mission satisfied the terms of the contract.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
Perhaps this could all be done more quickly than securing the Strait of Hormuz or occupying Kharg, but it’s not an in-and-out operation like Venezuela.
From Slate ● Apr. 1, 2026
Prof Mabbott said: "Living a lot longer, but suffering from the multiple morbidities that can accompany ageing, and in-and-out of hospital for another tissue transplant does not sound an attractive way to spend my retirement!"
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2025
The two of us were practicing crossovers and in-and-out dribbles under the streetlight.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2023
Besides the happy, sad, and funny funerals, there were the super quick in-and-out funerals, or as Robbie Ray called them, drive-bys.
From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
