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

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

From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026

Fernando Guerra, a political science professor at Loyola Marymount University, said Pratt seems to have tapped into a deep well of discontent among Angelenos who believe that crime and homeless have spiraled out of control.

From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2026

"I was so agitated that I was scared. I was scaring myself because I felt out of control," he said.

From BBC • May 13, 2026

Because if we’re not schooling people, it’s going to become more rampant than it already is, and it is out of control.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026

A student of history, he often quoted an exchange between German leaders from early in the war, as the horrific combat spiraled out of control.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin