rule out
Britishverb
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to dismiss from consideration
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to make impossible; preclude or prevent
the rain ruled out outdoor games
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Eliminate from consideration, exclude, as in The option of starting over again has been ruled out . [Second half of 1800s]
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Prevent, make impossible, as in The snowstorm ruled out our weekly rehearsal . [First half of 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.
He initially refused to rule out military force.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
Carney was asked Thursday about the prospect of Canada joining the EU and delivered what he termed a "non-answer," declining to rule out the idea or endorse it.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
The evidence also allowed the team to rule out natural explanations such as glacial movement.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026
The company said it was unlikely that data from people using its products had helped improve the models, but it couldn’t rule out the possibility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
“She forced it to go to that situation on the bus so that she could rule out Erudite—except Erudite wasn’t ruled out.”
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
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.
