out of control

Idioms  

1. Also, out of hand. No longer under management, direction, or regulation; unmanageable or unruly. For example, Housing costs are out of control, or The children were getting out of hand again. The first term uses control in the sense of “restraint,” a usage dating from the late 1500s; the variant uses hand in the sense of “power” or “authority,” and dates from the late 1800s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

out of control

PARIS—Record-setting wildfires continue to blaze out of control across swaths of France and Spain, threatening urban areas ahead of a new heat wave expected later this week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

The fires around Madrid remained out of control on Friday, with Spanish officials saying that two major blazes southwest of the capital had merged, further complicating efforts to extinguish them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Meanwhile, the government in Spain has declared a national emergency as wildfires burn out of control in several areas close to the capital Madrid.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

While recent rainfall has slightly slowed the spread of the fires, more than 200 remained out of control across the country on Monday.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

I had one chance before this all got totally out of control.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda