out of the loop
Americanidiom
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Informal. not aware of certain facts or not party to certain decisions because one has not received the necessary communication about them.
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relating to the phenomenon in which operators of highly automated systems, such as power plants or driverless cars, are reduced to observers who may fail to remain vigilant and may therefore not notice or understand when something is going wrong, resulting in an inability to react promptly and appropriately. Abbreviation: OOTL.
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.
If one spouse exerts control and the other is disengaged or kept out of the loop, filing tax returns can inflame tensions and drive a wedge into the relationship.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 5, 2026
Some managers have been cut out of the loop on staff reductions, unable to answer questions or explain dismissals to teams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025
Almost seven years on from what happened at Greenvale, and more than seven months on from the last court date, Mr Bradley and Mr Currie said the families feel out of the loop.
From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2025
I don’t even think I watched the Olympics that year, so I was completely out of the loop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2024
The door latch rattled again, and this time the hook just kept on rattling until it worked its way out of the loop and fell hanging.
From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones
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.
