dazed or stupefied because of the influence of narcotic drugs.
The spaced-out main characters are the primary feature of a stoner comedy.
dreamily or eerily out of touch with reality or seemingly so; spacey.
He was rushed to the hospital with signs of a concussion, including spaced-out and confused behavior.
An Americanism dating back to 1965–70; on the pattern of phrasal verbs with out marking completed action, such as tired out; space apparently by association with “outer space” as, metaphorically, a place outside normal consciousness
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The shiny-faced, spaced-out humans of 2024 have ceded their place to an expanded host of critters, letting Coke dodge the “uncanny valley” where nearly real simulations of people wind up unsettling viewers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2025
The tour is in support of the band's seventh album, The Car, which builds on the lounge-y, spaced-out orchestral vibes of their previous record, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino.
From BBC ● May 29, 2023
The entire evening was a giant, justifiable embrace between the lovably spaced-out star and a crowd that always had his back.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2023
Her projects since have added more colors to her palette, but she’s best on similarly spaced-out songs like “Euphoria,” alongside fellow Texans Travis Scott and Don Toliver.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 1, 2023
They did not move in columns across the exposed places, but in open, spaced-out lines, oddly suggestive of the rushes of modern infantry advancing under fire.
From The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)
But in “Masquerade,” six cohorts of 60 audience members need to be spaced out evenly as they take in the show in a 30,000-square-foot, five-floor warehouse once occupied by an art supply company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
Truthful and concerning accounts, all of them—but few and far between, spaced out over a span of years to make it seem like these are common rather than exceptional occurrences.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2025
“I just can’t believe it. I kinda spaced out for a while when they called my name.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2024
Her first college game came in an eerily quiet setting: no fans, players spaced out on bleachers and some wearing masks to protect against the coronavirus.
From New York Times ● Apr. 2, 2024
The kids were spaced out along the street, flagging down their neighbors and other pedestrians, explaining their plight.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
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.
