out of hand
Idioms-
See out of control .
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At once, immediately, as in The second surgeon rejected the doctor's treatment plan out of hand . [1300s]
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.
But each is pushing for leverage, raising fear of an escalatory spiral that gets out of hand, said Saeid Golkar, an expert on Iran’s security services who teaches at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
This correlation has long been the subject of urban myths on Wall Street, and many have dismissed it out of hand.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
And Tusk is seeking to dampen the spat, appealing to both Zelensky and Nawrocki to have "a direct and honest conversation" before things spiral out of hand.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
This is when things start getting a little out of hand.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
That uncertainty means that nuclear engineers watch the overall reaction closely to make sure that things don’t get out of hand.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
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.
