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Synonyms

out to lunch

Idioms  

  1. Not in touch with the real world, crazy; also, inattentive. For example, If he believes that story, he's really out to lunch, or Anne hasn't heard a word you said—she's out to lunch. This expression transfers a temporary physical absence for the purpose of eating to a temporary or permanent mental absence. [Slang; mid-1900s]

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.

Maybe that happened before COVID, but now the stuff he's saying, it's just completely out to lunch.

From Salon • Feb. 2, 2025

“They’ve been out to lunch for a long time,” Robinson said.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 10, 2023

The next year, colleagues took her out to lunch and brought a cake for her 101st birthday.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2023

The comic took her and her family out to lunch the following month after Ms Nuttall was told the tumour had grown back and the family later brought Christmas forward after news it had spread.

From BBC • May 22, 2023

So on Wednesday, I asked Annemarie if she wanted to go out to lunch with me and she said yes.

From "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead

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.