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.
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
It was the pass that turned a defence inside out and twisted history upside down.
From BBC • Feb. 14, 2026
You need to have them choreographed because the actors can only really relate from the inside out, so they don’t know what stories being told outside.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2026
Shame and outrage scalded me from the inside out.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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.
