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

The first depicts a soldier struggling to maneuver a cannon pulled by a team of horses into position, one of them out of control.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026

“If Nvidia was trading at 50 times earnings, we’d be having a much different conversation about how valuations are getting out of control and investors are no longer paying attention to multiples,” he said.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 18, 2026

Once policymakers realized inflation was out of control, they course-corrected and hiked interest rates rapidly.

From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026

Lillian Price thinks that tipping in the US is "out of control".

From BBC • May 27, 2026

He had always been a nervous and impulsive person, but lately his emotions were almost out of control.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple