inside out
Idioms-
With the inner surface turned out or revealed, as in He wore his shirt inside out . This expression dates from about 1600 and was soon used figuratively, as in He turned the verses inside out and revealed their hidden sense .
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Extremely well, thoroughly, especially alluding to knowing something. For example, He knows this system inside out . [First half of 1900s]
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.
It could help support healthier aging from the inside out.
From Science Daily • May 4, 2026
Note that this week’s letter was authored by Mr. Homan, who is as serious as a heart attack about border security and who knows DHS inside out.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
Teachers must also shoulder emotional labor in addition to knowing their subject, whether it’s history, math or English, inside out.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 9, 2026
That heat was enough to shatter a single pane window, creating the perfect opportunity for embers to enter and burn the house from the inside out.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025
A good fifteen minutes of scrubbing and it felt like I had turned every inch of my skin inside out.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
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.
