Synonyms

light out

British

verb

informal (intr, adverb) to depart quickly, as if being chased

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

light out Idioms

Leave hastily, run away, as in Here comes the teacher—let's light out. This slangy idiom may allude to the nautical sense, that is, to move or lift anything along. [Slang; mid-1800s]

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.

See Examples For:

light out

I enjoy it when it’s not fully light out, maybe making myself a coffee or taking a walk to this place called Project Bloom Coffee.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026

You Dean Mears took the light out of my life.

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2025

For others, it’s when they first realize they’ve finished dinner and it’s still light out, or when the first crocuses poke up through the snow.

From New York Times ● Mar. 16, 2024

Also, rant to those who run early in the morning before it’s light out, without any reflective gear on.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2022

Holding the light out in front of me, I looked at it.

From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls

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