out of the woods

Idioms  

1. Out of difficulties, danger or trouble, as in We're through the worst of the recession—we're out of the woods now, or That pneumonia was serious, but Charles is finally out of the woods. This expression, alluding to having been lost in a forest, dates from Roman times; it was first recorded in English in 1792. The British usage is out of the wood.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

out of the woods

Despite a flurry of vague timelines and lofty promises, it doesn’t seem like we’ll be out of the woods any time soon.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

“That does not mean that we are out of the woods yet with respect to home-related spending, particularly as rates continue to move back up,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

"But I remind people they're not out of the woods yet," Tony says.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

But Cracker Barrel isn’t out of the woods yet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

When they came out of the woods and had gone through the kissing gate, she stopped and turned.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Related Words

• improving
• well