[out in the cold]{adj. phr.}, {informal} Alone; not included. •/All the other children were chosen for parts in the play, but Johnny was left out in the cold./ •/Everybody made plans for Christmas Day and Mary found herself out in the cold./ Compare: HIGH AND DRY.

[out in the open] See: COME OUT IN THE OPEN.

[out like a light]{adj. phr.}, {informal} 1. Fast asleep; to sleep very quickly. •/Tom got so much fresh air and exercise that he went out like a light as soon as he lay down./ •/As soon as the lights were turned off, Johnny was out like a light./ 2. In a faint; unconscious. •/Johnny was hit by a ball and went out like a light./ •/After she read that Tom had married another girl Jean was out like a light for several minutes./ Compare: OUT COLD.

[out loud]{adv. phr.} In an ordinary speaking voice and not whispering or talking quietly; so everybody can hear; aloud. •/The teacher read the final grades out loud./ •/Mary spoke out loud so the people standing nearby would hear./ •/Sometimes I find it helpful to think out loud./

[out of]{prep.} 1a. From the inside to the outside of. •/John took the apple out of the bag./ •/Get out of the car!/ •/The teacher has gone out of town./ 1b. In a place away from. •/No, you can’t see Mr. Jones; he is out of the office today./ •/Our house is ten miles out of town./ 2. From a particular condition or situation; not in; from; in a way changed from being in. •/The drugstore is going out of business./ •/The sick man is out of danger at last./ •/Bob is never out of trouble./ 3. Beyond the range of. •/The plane is out of sight now./ •/If you can’t swim, don’t go out of your depth./ 4. From (a source). •/Mother asked Billy who started the fight, but she couldn’t get anything out of him./ •/The teacher gave a test to see what the students got out of the lesson./ •/Mr. Jones made a fortune out of cotton./ 5. Because of; as a result of. •/Mary scolded Joan out of jealousy./ •/The cat ran away out of fear of the dog./ 6. Without; not having. •/The store is out of coffee./ •/John’s father is out of work./ 7. From (a material). •/The house is built out of stone./ •/His suit is made out of cotton and is cool./ 8. From among. •/The man picked Joe out of the crowd./ •/Our team won eight out of ten games last season./

[out of a bandbox] See: LOOK AS IF ONE HAS COME OUT OF A BANDBOX.

[out of account] See: LEAVE OUT OF ACCOUNT.

[out of a clear sky] or [out of a clear blue sky] See: OUT OF THE BLUE.

[out of action]{adv. phr.} Useless; crippled; damaged so as to be quiescent. •/American bombers put Nazi heavy industry out of action during World War II./ •/When I broke my leg I was out of action for the entire football season./

[out of all proportion]{adv. phr.} Disproportionate; lopsided. •/The news coverage of the sensational celebrity double murder has grown out of all proportion, obscuring the international news./

[out of bounds]{adv.} or {adj. phr.} 1. Outside of the boundary lines in a game; not on or inside the playing field. •/Bill thought he had scored a touchdown, but he had stepped out of bounds before he reached the goal line./ 2. Outside of a circumscribed area for a certain kind of work, such as construction or military site. •/The principal told the students that the new gymnasium being built on the school grounds was out of bounds./ •/The captain’s cabin is out of bounds to the passengers on the ship./ Contrast: WITHIN BOUNDS. 3. Outside of safe or proper limits; not doing what is proper; breaking the rules of good behavior. •/John was out of bounds when he called Tom a liar in the meeting./ •/His request for a 25% salary raise was totally out of bounds./

[out of breath]{adj.} or {adv. phr.} Not breathing easily or regularly; gasping; panting. •/The fat man was out of breath after climbing the stairs./ •/The mile run left Bill out of breath./

[out of character]{adv.} or {adj. phr.} 1. Not in agreement with a person’s character or personality; not in the way that a person usually behaves or is expected to behave; not usual; unsuitable; uncharacteristic. •/Mary is a nice girl. Her fit of temper was out of character./ 2. Not in character; unsuitable for a part or character. •/It isn’t always out of character for a young actor to play an old man, if he is a good actor./ Contrast: IN CHARACTER.

[out of circulation]{adj. phr.}, {informal} Not out in the company of friends, other people, and groups; not active; not joining in what others are doing. •/John has a job after school and is out of circulation with his friends./ Contrast: IN CIRCULATION.

[out of commission]{adj. phr.} 1. Retired from active military service; no longer on active duty. •/When the war was over, many warships were placed out of commission./ Contrast: IN COMMISSION(1). 2. Not in use or not working; so that it cannot work or be used. •/The strike put the airline out of commission for a week./ •/John will have to walk to the store. His bicycle is out of commission./ Compare: OUT OF ORDER. Contrast: IN COMMISSION(2).

[out of condition] See: OUT OF SHAPE or OUT OF CONDITION.

[out of date]{adj. phr.} Old fashioned; superseded; no longer valid; too old to be used. •/Father’s suit is out of date; he needs a new one./ •/The news magazines in the doctor’s office were all out of date./

[out of fashion]{adj. phr.} Having passed from vogue; out of the current mode. •/The miniskirt is now out of fashion in most quarters, but it may very well come back some day./

[out of gas]{adv. phr.} 1. Out of fuel (said of automobiles). •/Be sure you don’t run out of gas when you go on a long distance trip by car./ 2. Rundown; depleted of energy; in poor physical condition. •/Mary said she had to take a break from her job as she was running totally out of gas./

[out of gear] See: THROW OUT OF GEAR.

[out of hand]{adv. phr.} 1. Out of control. •/Bobby’s birthday party got out of hand and the children were naughty./ •/Small puppies often get out of hand./ 2. Suddenly, quickly without examination of possible truth or merit; without any consideration. — Often used after "dismiss" or "reject". •/The senator rejected out of hand the critics' call for his resignation./ Compare: OUT OF LINE. Contrast: IN HAND.

[out of hot water] See: HOT WATER.

[out of keeping]{adj. phr.} Not going well together; not agreeing; not proper. •/Loud talk was out of keeping in the library./ •/It was out of keeping for the kind man to kick the dog./ Contrast: IN KEEPING.

[out of kilter]{adj. phr.}, {informal} 1. Not balanced right; not in a straight line or lined up right. •/The scale must be out of kilter because when I weighed myself on it, it said 300 pounds./ •/The wheels of my bicycle were out of kilter after it hit the tree./ Contrast: IN BALANCE. 2. Needing repair; not working right. •/My watch runs too slowly; it must be out of kilter./ Syn.: OUT OF ORDER(2).

[out of line(1)]{adv. phr.} Not in a straight line; away from a true line. •/The two edges were out of line and there was a space between them./ •/The sergeant ordered the soldier who was out of line to get properly lined up./

[out of line(2)]{adj. phr.} Not obeying or agreeing with what is right or usual; doing or being what people do not expect or accept; outside ordinary or proper limits; not usual, right, or proper. •/Little Mary got out of line and was rude to Aunt Elizabeth./ •/The teacher asked Charlie not to tell one of the jokes because it was out of line./ •/Mrs. Green thought the repair man’s charge was out of line./ Compare: OUT OF HAND, OUT OF ORDER. Contrast: IN LINE(2).