sound out

British  

verb

1. (tr, adverb) to question (someone) in order to discover (opinions, facts, etc)

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sound out Idioms  

1. Seek the views or intentions of, as in We'd better sound out Mom about who's using the station wagon, or Let's sound out the staff before we decide which week we should close for vacation. This expression derives from sound meaning “to measure the depth of water by lowering a line or lead.” It was transferred to other kinds of inquiry in the late 1500s, but out was not added for several centuries.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sound out

Several of her hits have vintage charm—they wouldn’t sound out of place in a honky-tonk in the 1980s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026

In the Netherlands, the winning party leader appoints a "scout" to sound out the various parties and work out who is prepared to talk to whom.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2025

Germany, meanwhile, have been hoping to reverse their 15-year losing streak with Baller, a super-catchy trance anthem that wouldn't sound out of place at Berlin superclub Berghain.

From BBC ● May 9, 2025

But a stream of faulty alerts continued to sound out the following day.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2025

“Sometimes he’d make this ‘Booga Booga’ sound out of nowhere, right when I was drifting off to sleep.”

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

Related Words

• bark
• clang
• honk
• hoot
• resound
• roar
• scream
• shout
• shriek
• toot
• trumpet