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  • way out
    way out
    noun
    the means by which a predicament, dilemma, etc., may be solved.
  • way-out
    way-out
    adjective
    advanced in style or technique.
Synonyms

way out

1 American  

noun

  1. the means by which a predicament, dilemma, etc., may be solved.

  2. Chiefly British. an exit or exit door, as in a theater.


way-out 2 American  
[wey-out] / ˈweɪˈaʊt /

adjective

Informal.
  1. advanced in style or technique.

    way-out jazz.

  2. exotic or esoteric in character.

    way-out theories on nutrition.


way-out British  

adjective

  1. extremely unconventional or experimental; avant-garde

  2. excellent or amazing

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of way-out

1950–55; adj. use of way out far off; see way 2, 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:

The rest of us need to find a cogent and workable way out of this self-made mess..

From Salon Sep. 18, 2026

But crude oil continues to find a way out of the Persian Gulf and the U.S. still prefers to pressure Tehran and its enablers through economic measures, he adds.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 10, 2026

One of them signed a form regarding net unrealized appreciation on their way out the door.

From MarketWatch Sep. 10, 2026

The Venezuela forward had a golden opportunity to announce himself on his debut against Motherwell but showed little composure as his shot clipped the crossbar on its way out.

From BBC Sep. 8, 2026

Any goodwill he’d earned from her from his interview had long since evaporated, and she was way, way out of his league.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

But in the 1950s, Detroit was still about blue-skying massive, gas-swigging machines and way-out concept cars.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 26, 2026

While intelligent machines may beat humans in many domains, as they already have in game play, the possibility of AI systems developing self-awareness and free will is still the stuff of way-out science fiction.

From Washington Post Mar. 17, 2021

This frolic on the wilder shores of mathematics, by astronomer David Darling and maths prodigy Agnijo Banerjee, aims to bolt the way-out to the day-to-day.

From Nature Jan. 15, 2018

On Wednesday France invited Hariri and his family to Paris, providing what French diplomats have described as a way-out for him to leave Saudi Arabia without any side losing face.

From Reuters Nov. 16, 2017

He comes to me with some way-out tale about how come and why.

From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison

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