zone out

Idioms  

1. Stop paying attention, dissociate oneself from a situation. Also, engage in a mindless activity. For example, When Felicia starts talking about her ailments and her friends' ailments, I totally zone out. This idiom also occurs in the passive, be zoned out. It originally alluded to narcotic intoxication and then was broadened to other kinds of dissociation. For a near synonym, see tune out, def. 2. [Slang; second half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

I can peacefully zone out, knowing these people are qualified.

From The Wall Street Journal

Kellerman spends the last five minutes of the class talking with us about our upcoming art project, and I’m relieved to just zone out and listen.

From Literature

Could he zone out and listen to the entire Dylan catalog?

From The Wall Street Journal

“When I’m playing, it zones out,” Anna Leigh Waters says of that unmistakable, plastic pop, pop, pop distinct to the wildly popular paddle sport—and a bane to fussy condo boards everywhere.

From The Wall Street Journal

After a few minutes, she would zone out, and he would lose patience.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• lose consciousness
• pass out