out
1 Americanadverb
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away from, or not in, the normal or usual place, position, state, etc.: to go out to dinner.
out of alphabetical order;
to go out to dinner.
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away from one's home, country, work, etc., as specified.
to go out of town.
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in or into the outdoors.
to go out for a walk.
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to a state of exhaustion, extinction, or depletion.
to pump a well out.
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to the end or conclusion; to a final decision or resolution.
to say it all out.
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to a point or state of extinction, nonexistence, etc.: a practice on the way out.
to blow out the candle;
a practice on the way out.
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in or into a state of neglect, disuse, etc.; not in current vogue or fashion.
That style has gone out.
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so as not to be in the normal or proper position or state; out of joint.
His back went out after his fall.
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in or into public notice or knowledge.
The truth is out at last.
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seeking openly and energetically to do or have.
to be out for a good time.
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not in present possession or use, as on loan.
The librarian said that the book was still out.
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on strike.
The miners go out at midnight.
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so as to project or extend: stick your tongue out.
to stretch out;
stick your tongue out.
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in or into activity, existence, or outward manifestation.
A rash came out on her arm.
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from a specified source or material.
made out of scraps.
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from a state of composure, satisfaction, or harmony.
to be put out over trifles.
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in or into a state of confusion, vexation, dispute, variance, or unfriendliness.
to fall out about trifles.
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so as to deprive or be deprived.
to be cheated out of one's money.
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so as to use the last part of.
to run out of gas.
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from a number, stock, or store.
to point out the errors.
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aloud or loudly.
to cry out.
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with completeness or effectiveness.
to fill out.
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thoroughly; completely; entirely.
The children tired me out.
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so as to obliterate or make undecipherable: to ink out.
to cross out a misspelling;
to ink out.
adjective
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not at one's home or place of employment; absent.
I stopped by to visit you last night, but you were out.
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not open to consideration; out of the question.
I wanted to go by plane, but all the flights are booked, so that's out.
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We had some but now we're out.
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removed from or not in effective operation, play, a turn at bat, or the like, as in a game.
He's out for the season because of an injury.
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no longer having or holding a job, public office, etc.; unemployed; disengaged (usually followed byof ).
to be out of work.
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inoperative; extinguished: Are the lights out?
The elevator is out.
Are the lights out?
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finished; ended.
before the week is out.
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not currently stylish, fashionable, or in vogue.
Fitted waistlines are out this season.
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Two drinks and he's usually out.
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not in power, authority, or the like.
a member of the out party.
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Baseball.
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(of a batter) not succeeding in getting on base.
He was out at first on an attempted bunt.
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(of a base runner) not successful in an attempt to advance a base or bases.
He was out in attempting to steal second base.
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beyond fixed or regular limits; out of bounds.
The ball was out.
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having a pecuniary loss or expense to an indicated extent.
The company will be out millions of dollars if the new factory doesn't open on schedule.
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incorrect or inaccurate.
His calculations are out.
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not in practice; unskillful from lack of practice.
Your bow hand is out.
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beyond the usual, as in range, size or weight (often used in combination): an out-supply of grain.
clothing in out sizes;
an out-supply of grain.
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exposed; made bare, as by holes in one's clothing.
out at the knees.
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acknowledging and publicly disclosing an identity, affiliation, or orientation that does not conform to socially defined norms, often a sexual orientation or gender identity: She’s an out lesbian.
He’d been out for years, but his grandma still asked him when he was going to settle down with a nice girl.
She’s an out lesbian.
I’m an out sci-fi nerd.
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at variance; at odds; unfriendly.
They are out with each other.
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moving or directed outward; outgoing.
the out train.
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not available, plentiful, etc..
Mums are out till next fall.
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located at a distance; outlying.
We sailed to six of the out islands.
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Cricket. not having its innings.
the out side.
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Golf. of or relating to the playing of the first nine holes of an 18-hole golf course (in ).
His out score on the second round was 33.
preposition
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(used to indicate movement or direction from the inside to the outside of something): She ran out the door.
He looked out the window.
She ran out the door.
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(used to indicate location).
The car is parked out back.
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(used to indicate movement away from a central point).
Let's drive out the old parkway.
interjection
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begone! away!
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(used in radio communications to signify that the sender has finished the message and is not expecting or prepared to receive a reply.)
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Archaic. (an exclamation of abhorrence, indignation, reproach, or grief (usually followed byupon ).
Out upon you!
noun
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a means of escape or excuse, as from a place, punishment, retribution, responsibility, etc..
He always left himself an out.
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a person who lacks status, power, or authority, especially in relation to a particular group or situation.
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Usually outs. persons not in office or political power (in ).
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Baseball. a putout.
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(in tennis, squash, handball, etc.) a return or service that does not land within the in-bounds limits of a court or section of a court (in ).
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something that is out, as a projecting corner.
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Printing.
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the omission of a word or words.
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the word or words omitted.
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Northern British Dialect. an outing.
verb (used without object)
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to go or come out.
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to become public, evident, known, etc..
The truth will out.
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to make known; tell; utter (followed bywith ).
Out with the truth!
verb (used with object)
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to expose (a person with a secret or private identity, orientation, affiliation, etc.) as being or having such an aspect of self, to an audience with whom the person had not chosen to share that information: Outing a racist to his thousands of social media followers might have seemed like justice, but the online harassment both parties have gotten in response was also predictable.
An ex outed her as gay at the end of her senior year, just before graduation.
Outing a racist to his thousands of social media followers might have seemed like justice, but the online harassment both parties have gotten in response was also predictable.
idioms
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out of,
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not within.
out of the house.
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beyond the reach of.
The boat's passengers had sailed out of hearing.
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not in a condition of.
out of danger.
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so as to deprive or be deprived of.
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from within or among.
Take the jokers out of the pack.
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because of; owing to.
out of loyalty.
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foaled by (a dam).
Grey Dancer out of Lady Grey.
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out for, aggressively determined to acquire, achieve, etc..
He's out for all the money he can get.
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all out, with maximum effort; thoroughly or wholeheartedly.
They went all out to finish by Friday.
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out and away, to a surpassing extent; far and away; by far.
It was out and away the best apple pie she had ever eaten.
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come out. come.
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out of it,
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not conscious; drunk or heavily drugged.
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eliminated from contention.
If our team loses two more games, we'll be out of it.
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not part of or acceptable within an activity, social group, or fashion.
She felt out of it because none of her friends were at the party.
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out of sight. sight.
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be on the / at outs with, to be estranged from (another person); be unfriendly or on bad terms with.
He is on the outs with his brother.
We've been at outs with them for the past ten years.
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out from under, out of a difficult situation, especially of debts or other obligations.
The work piled up while I was away and I don't know how I'll ever get out from under.
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out of trim, (of a ship) drawing excessively at the bow or stern.
adverb
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(often used as a particle) at or to a point beyond the limits of some location; outside
get out at once
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(particle) out of consciousness
she passed out at the sight of blood
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(particle) used to indicate a burst of activity as indicated by the verb
fever broke out
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(particle) used to indicate obliteration of an object
the graffiti were painted out
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(particle) used to indicate an approximate drawing or description
sketch out
chalk out
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public; revealed
the secret is out
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(often used as a particle) away from one's custody or ownership, esp on hire
to let out a cottage
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on sale or on view to the public
the book is being brought out next May
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(of a young woman) in or into polite society
Lucinda had a fabulous party when she came out
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(of the sun, stars, etc) visible
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(of a jury) withdrawn to consider a verdict in private
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(particle) used to indicate exhaustion or extinction
the sugar's run out
put the light out
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(particle) used to indicate a goal or object achieved at the end of the action specified by the verb
he worked it out
let's fight it out, then!
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(preceded by a superlative) existing
the friendliest dog out
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an expression in signalling, radio, etc, to indicate the end of a transmission
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archaic in or to Australia or New Zealand
he came out last year
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at or to a point outside
out of his reach
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away from; not in
stepping out of line
out of focus
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because of, motivated by
doing it out of jealousy
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from (a material or source)
made out of plastic
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not or no longer having any of (a substance, material, etc)
we're out of sugar
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adjective
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not or not any longer worth considering
that plan is out because of the weather
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not allowed
smoking on duty is out
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(also prenominal) not in vogue; unfashionable
that sort of dress is out these days
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(of a fire or light) no longer burning or providing illumination
the fire is out
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not working
the radio's out
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unconscious
he was out for two minutes
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informal asleep or unconscious, esp because drunk
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not in; not at home
call back later, they're out now
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desirous of or intent on (something or doing something)
I'm out for as much money as I can get
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Also: out on strike. on strike
the machine shop is out
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(in several games and sports) denoting the state in which a player is caused to discontinue active participation, esp in some specified role
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used up; exhausted
our supplies are completely out
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worn into holes
this sweater is out at the elbows
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inaccurate, deficient, or discrepant
out by six pence
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not in office or authority
his party will be out at the election
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completed or concluded, as of time
before the year is out
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in flower
the roses are out now
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in arms, esp, in rebellion
one of his ancestors was out in the Forty-Five
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(also prenominal) being out
the out position on the dial
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informal not concealing one's homosexuality
preposition
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out of; out through
he ran out the door
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archaic outside; beyond
he comes from out our domain
interjection
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an exclamation, usually peremptory, of dismissal, reproach, etc
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(in wireless telegraphy) an expression used to signal that the speaker is signing off
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a command to make something known immediately, without missing any details
noun
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a method of escape from a place, difficult situation, punishment, etc
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baseball an instance of the putting out of a batter; putout
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printing
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the omission of words from a printed text; lacuna
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the words so omitted
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See in 1
verb
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(tr) to put or throw out
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(intr) to be made known or effective despite efforts to the contrary (esp in the phrase will out )
the truth will out
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informal (tr) (of homosexuals) to expose (a public figure) as being a fellow homosexual
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informal (tr) to expose something secret, embarrassing, or unknown about (a person)
he was eventually outed as a talented goal scorer
prefix
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excelling or surpassing in a particular action
outlast
outlive
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indicating an external location or situation away from the centre
outpost
outpatient
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indicating emergence, an issuing forth, etc
outcrop
outgrowth
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indicating the result of an action
outcome
Usage
The use of out as a preposition, though common in American English, is regarded as incorrect in British English: he climbed out of (not out ) a window; he went out through the door
Etymology
Origin of out1
First recorded before 900; (adverb) Middle English; Old English ūt; cognate with Dutch uit, German aus, Old Norse, Gothic ūt; akin to Sanskrit ud-; (adjective, interjection, and preposition) Middle English, from the adverb; (verb) Middle English outen, Old English ūtian “to put out,” cognate with Old Frisian ūtia
Origin of out-2
Middle English; Old English ūt-; out
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.
North American Aerospace Defense Command “has technical fixes in place today to edit interference out of its radar displays, and wind project developers have been paying for these fixes since 2013.”
From Los Angeles Times
As CBS reported, “Many of the documents contained significant redactions, including whole pages of records that were blacked out.”
From Salon
Fourteen out of the approximately 100 applications have so far been rejected, 21 have been approved, and those remaining are still undergoing review, according to the ministry.
From BBC
Spain's Christmas lottery has been welcomed as an "injection of hope" in the northwest of the country, where the jackpot handed out hundreds of millions of euros just months after wildfires had caused devastation.
From BBC
He struck again in the second half after intercepting a pass from Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia as he tried to play out from the back.
From Barron's
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.
