space out

Idioms

Stupefy or disorient, as if or from a drug. For example, This medication spaces me out so I can't think clearly, or I wonder what those kids are on—they look totally spaced out. [1960s] Also see zone out.

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.

See Examples For:

space out

Law-student-turned-coxswain Maisie Dixon held a chain attached to the bank, a system devised to space out crews.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

If the right-winger moves inside, the right-back, Hakimi, fills the space out wide.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026

“There’s no reason to delay or space out vaccines,” O’Leary said.

From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2025

Though Newcastle were coming up against a back five, they knew there would be space out wide for the rapid Anthony Elanga and Gordon – and so it proved.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2025

In this new climate, most body snatchers extended their territory, riffling the graves of distant cemeteries to space out their raids.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023