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

This out of control monstrosity must be broken up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The fire remained "out of control" as of Saturday morning.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

One fire remains out of control, at Vall d'Uixó north-west of Valencia.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

The emergency was far from over on Sunday, even as Spanish officials were cautiously optimistic that the blazes were no longer spreading out of control.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

“I’ll go,” I say, seemingly out of control of my own mouth.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King