to bail out
42
4.4
- phrasal verb
- /beɪl aʊt/
- Informal
:
pagar la fianza
- Why did you bail me out of jail?
- bail out of jail
- get bailed out
- bail out a friend
Because I noticed on your tape that the thing you said, well, she got a DUI and of course I had to bail her out.
- Because I noticed on your tape that the thing you said, well, she got a DUI and of course I had to bail her out.
- Meanwhile, money, or lack thereof, is time for all the men and women awaiting trial in cells they can't bail themselves out of.
- My church raises money to bail poor people out of jail who are there not because they're dangerous, but because they can't afford the the bail money.
- If you can't bail yourself out, you are locked up until this whole shit is over when they can get a jury of your peers to actually have the trial.
Examples
-
Her lawyer came to bail her out.
Fiction book (1999) -
- I'm gonna bail Lisa out of jail.
-
I had to call my mom to bail me out.
Fiction book (2002) -
I am here, bailing my husband out of jail.
-
Thanks for bailing me out.
-
I'm glad I didn't have to bail you out of jail.
-
Ralphie went to the police station and bailed Jerry out.
Fiction book (1993) -
Dorothy spent two weeks in jail on the possession/homicide charge before she was bailed out.
Academic text (2000) -
My church raises money to bail poor people out of jail who are there not because they're dangerous, but because they can't afford the the bail money.
-
I need to find someone who can bail out my friend from jail today.
Synonyms
145
4.2
To pay money as security so someone can leave jail until their trial
Antonyms
How Free
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to give financial help to prevent failure' is a metaphorical extension of the literal verb 'bail' (to remove water) combined with 'out' (removal/away), so there is a recognizable relation of 'removing someone from trouble' but the specific financial-rescue meaning is not directly predictable from the literal senses. Because the connection depends on a metaphorical transfer and background knowledge of the idiomatic use, an average B1 learner who knows only the literal constituents would likely not infer the exact meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
Bail out for freeing someone from jail comes from paying a bail, a sum of money given to the court so a person can leave until trial. That's why to bail out someone now means 'to pay for their release from jail'.