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to come out

to come out

526 2.3
To appear or become visible, for example when the sun shines through clouds
  • phrasal verb
  • /kʌm aʊt/
translation icon : salir
  • One morning about six o'clock, the first woman who came out of the house raised an alarm.
  • the sun comes out
  • to come out of the house
  • to come out after dark

And when the Jabberwock comes out, she kills Jest.

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Examples

  • I'll come out there and I'll pray with you.

  • All right, The sun will come out tomorrow.

  • Now it's time to come out and play.

  • So now that we are coming out of the pandemic, now what?

  • Those celebrities just come out to crown the winner.

  • Well, I know that, you know, you weren't all that thrilled the first time when the film came out.

  • After the rain, the flowers began to come out and show their vibrant colors.

  • The secrets started to come out during the investigation, surprising everyone involved.

  • As the movie progressed, the truth about the characters began to come out in unexpected ways.

Synonyms

to come
vsto come out
1.0

Move out of or appear from a place

is more specific to visible emergence rather than general production or emission
to show up
vsto come out
1.4

To be seen or arrive at a place

is used more generally for becoming visible not only when arriving somewhere
to appear
vsto come out
873 1.0

To come into view or become visible

is used mainly for physical emergence rather than starting to exist
to get out
vsto come out
412 3.5

Become known to many people, even when it was secret

is about physical or general visibility rather than becoming public knowledge
to emerge
vsto come out
249 3.5

To come out from behind or under something and become visible

is more general and not limited to becoming visible only from hidden places
to surface
vsto come out
143 3.9

To rise to the top and become visible after being hidden

is about appearing generally rather than specifically rising to the top
to come on
vsto come out
82 2.1

Begin to appear or become visible

is about becoming visible generally rather than focusing on making an entrance
to issue
vsto come out
  • Literature
30 6.7

To come out from a place, like smoke or sound

is the everyday sense of becoming visible rather than formal flowing or emitting
to pop out
vsto come out
21 3.1

To come out quickly from a surface or container

is broader and covers any kind of becoming visible not only bulging out
to come forth
vsto come out
  • Formal
7 4.2

Appear from a place, often suddenly

is the neutral term for becoming visible rather than sudden or formal
to burst forth
vsto come out
5 5.4

Suddenly start to happen with a lot of energy

is more neutral and does not imply sudden force or strong energy
to burst out
vsto come out
2 3.4

Start suddenly and appear or happen quickly

is less sudden and usually describes gradual or simple visibility
to egress
vsto come out
  • Formal
1 8.9

To leave a place by going out

is the everyday verb for becoming visible rather than formal exiting or leaving

Antonyms

1.0

To stop being seen or to no longer be there

How Visible

to uncover
37 2.7
to come out
526 2.3
to emerge
249 3.5
to appear
873 1.0

Surface Forms

come out infinitive
coming out present participle
comes out third person singular
came out past
come out past participle

Morphology

come + out

The sense 'to become detached or emerge' follows directly from combining 'come' (to move or appear) with the particle 'out' (to the outside, emergence or removal); the particle adds the idea of emerging or being removed, so the overall meaning is compositionally predictable. This motion/particle pattern is common in English (and mirrored in many other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will typically infer the meaning.

Etymology

Come out paints a picture of something moving from inside to outside, like the sun coming out from behind clouds. So come out means 'to appear' or 'become visible'.