weasel out
Britishverb
-
to go back on a commitment
-
to evade a responsibility, esp in a despicable manner
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.
“But when universities do the same thing by trying to weasel out of their contracts, it’s equally corrosive.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025
Pick something that you feel like you can't weasel out of, and then you just have to do it.
From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2023
There will be some people on one side saying, “Yeah, you signed a contract, you’re just trying to weasel out of this thing.”
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2022
“He’s trying to weasel out of any responsibility for running the agency,” says Robert Santos, president of the American Statistical Association.
From Science Magazine ● Jan. 19, 2021
“Trying to weasel out of it with a false confession, eh?”
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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.
