to extend or protract (a story, etc) by including superfluous detail; prolong
to spend or pass (time)
to contrive to cause (money, etc) to last as long as possible
Protract or prolong, as in They spun out the negotiations over a period of months . This idiom alludes to drawing out a thread by spinning. [c. 1600]
Rotate out of control, as in The car spun out and crashed into the store window . [Mid-1900s]
First recorded in 1950–55; noun use of verb phrase spin out
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Shares have performed well since their spin-out from DuPont in November.
From Barron's ● May 12, 2026
“Lastly, we believe that the recently announced spin-out of FedEx Freight into a standalone company should serve as a value-unlocking event and will put more scrutiny on the operations of the Freight segment,” they write.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Nonetheless, the coating is available commercially through her spin-out company Seram Coatings.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2024
The University launched a spin-out company Cerca Magnetics in 2020 to commercialise OPM-MEG scanners and related technologies.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 4, 2024
On my mark it is T minus thirty minutes to spin-out check.
From Where I Wasn't Going by Richmond, Walt
“However, they may re-evaluate if the current war starts to spin out of control.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
Because Netflix is proposing to spin out the Discovery shares, the bidding war will be decided by what investors think those are worth.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
Leclerc survived a huge, high-speed spin out of Turn 15 on his first lap, but he fared better than team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who is having his worst weekend of the season.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025
Floodwaters covered a lane of traffic on Highway 60 in East L.A., causing several vehicles to spin out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2025
His thoughts are beginning to spin out with anxiety.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
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.
