out
/ˈäʊ̯t/adverb, preposition, noun, verb, adjective, interjection
out is spelled O-U-T: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 2,399 times per million words in written English, the 47th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, out means “Away from the inside or centre” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in out?
| Letters | 3: O-U-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 2,399 times per million words; the 47th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is out?
Out appears 2,399 times per million words in written English, the 47th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce out?
- UK /ˈäʊ̯t/
- British /ˈawt/
- /ˈuːt/
Out has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-out.ogg, En-ca-out.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Pvanp7-out.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of out
- oot
- outs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- outing participle, present
- outed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does out mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Away from the inside or centre.
The magician tapped the hat, and a rabbit jumped out.
- 2
Away from, or at a distance from, some point of reference or focus.
Once they had landed, the commandos quickly spread out along the beach.
- 3
Specifically, away from home or one's usual place.
Let’s eat out tonight
- 4
Away from the doer, especially vigorously.
hit out, lash out, speak out, shout out, yell out
- 5
informalAway, or at a distance, in time (relative to, and usually before, a stated event, or into the future) (often preceded by a stated time period and followed by "from" or "to")
Five weeks out from the passage of the law, something has to change.
- 6
Outside; not indoors.
Last night we slept out under the stars.
- 7
Of the ball or other playing implement, so as to pass or be situated beyond the bounds of the playing area.
The football caught the edge of the line but then bounced out.
- 8
Into a state of non-operation or non-existence.
Turn the lights out.
preposition
- 1
informalproscribedFrom the inside to the outside of; out of.
throw it out the window; get it out your mind
noun
- 1
A means of exit, escape, reprieve, etc.
They wrote the law to give those organizations an out.
- 2
A state in which a member of the batting team is removed from play due to the application of various rules of the game such as striking out, hitting a fly ball which is caught by the fielding team before bouncing, etc.
- 3
A dismissal; a state in which a member of the batting team finishes his turn at bat, due to the application of various rules of the game, such as the bowler knocking over the batsman's wicket with the ball.
- 4
A card which can make a hand a winner.
- 5
datedA trip out; an outing.
- 6
One who, or that which, is out; especially, one who is out of office.
- 7
A place or space outside of something; a nook or corner; an angle projecting outward; an open space.
- 8
datedA word or words omitted by the compositor in setting up copy; an omission.
verb
- 1
To eject; to expel.
- 2
To come or go out; to get out or away; to become public, revealed, or apparent.
- 3
To reveal (a person or organization) as having a certain secret, such as a being a secret agent or undercover detective.
- 4
To reveal (a secret).
A Brazilian company outed the new mobile phone design.
- 5
To reveal (a person) as LGBTQ+ (gay, trans, etc.).
- 6
To kill; to snuff out.
adjective
- 1
Not inside or within a place, especially a place that someone or something was formerly inside or is customarily inside
I worked away cleaning the U-bend until all the gunge was out.
- 2
Not at home, or not at one's office or place of employment.
I'm sorry, Mr Smith is out at the moment.
- 3
Not in jail, prison, or captivity; freed from confinement.
Sentenced to five years, he could be out in three with good behavior.
- 4
Not fitted or inserted into something.
The TV won't work with the plug out!
- 5
Falling or passing or being situated beyond the bounds of the playing area.
I thought the ball hit the line, but the umpire said it was out.
- 6
Dismissed from play under the rules of the game.
He bowls, Johnson pokes at it ... and ... Johnson is out! Caught behind by Ponsonby!
- 7
Discarded; no longer a possibility.
Right, so that idea's out. Let's move on to the next one.
- 8
No longer acceptable or permissible.
I've got diabetes, so cookies are right out.
interjection
- 1
A radio procedure word meaning that the station is finished with its transmission and does not expect a response.
Destruction. Two T-72s destroyed. Three foot mobiles down. Out.
- 2
slangUsed as a brusque or dramatic farewell
Welp, I got nothing else to say. Mikey out.
- 3
Get out; begone; away!
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Out in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | hors, dehors , à l'extérieur , loin , issue, sortie |
| German | heraus, hinaus, draußen , aus , outen , raus |
| Portuguese | fora , afora , longe , para fora , tirar do armário |
| Spanish | fuera , afuera , lejos , sacar del armario, sacar del clóset , delatar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does out come from?
From Middle English out, oute, from a combination of Old English ūt (“out”, preposition & adverb), from Proto-West Germanic *ūt, from Proto-Germanic *ūt (“out”); and Old English ūte (“outside; without”, adverb), from Proto-Germanic *ūtai (“out; outside”); both from Proto-Indo-European *úd (“upwards, away”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).