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Glite Dictionary
🔍 To be revealed 📚 To be released 🌸 To appear 🏳️‍🌈 To reveal identity 🥇 To finish first 🦷 To fall off
to come out

to come out

830 2.9
To become known to people after being hidden
  • phrasal verb
  • /kʌm aʊt/
translation icon : salir a la luz
  • The truth about the incident will come out eventually, despite everyone's attempts to keep it secret.
  • come out clearly
  • come out in a story
  • things come out

And after the truth comes out, he's still down.

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Examples

  • And I know the truth will come out.

    The Bling Ring (2013)

  • Because what finally will come out is the truth.

  • Because what finally will come out is the truth.

  • Tell the truth, come out, let people know.

    Anything Goes With James English

  • And each time more information comes out, we learn why.

  • But what, why was it difficult to come out and what made it easy?

  • You got ten seconds to come out.

    The Bricklayer (2023)

  • Just as I expected, everything has come out not the way I had expected.

    Academic text (2012)

  • But indeed, some good may come out of this agreement at some point.

    Academic text (2000)

  • And after the truth comes out, he's still down.

    Two Hot Takes

Synonyms

to get out
vsto come out
412 3.5

Become known to many people, even when it was secret

refers to becoming known to people generally rather than spreading widely to the public
to emerge
vsto come out
249 3.5

To come out from behind or under something and become visible

relates to information becoming known not just physical movement into view
to unfold
vsto come out
239 3.2

Become clear over time

refers to becoming known in general rather than unfolding slowly over time
to come to light
vsto come out
52 3.9

To become known after being hidden

focuses on becoming known to people rather than the act of discovery
to leak out
vsto come out
24 3.7

People find out secret information without permission

describes becoming known generally, not necessarily by accidental or unauthorised release
to come forth
vsto come out
  • Formal
7 4.2

Appear from a place, often suddenly

is about becoming known to people not about physical appearance or formality
to come out in the wash
vsto come out
  • Informal
2 7.0

A secret or problem becomes known later

means becoming known rather than being resolved or settled over time
to come to daylight
vsto come out
5.1

To become known after being hidden

highlights becoming known to people rather than the secrecy before it

Antonyms

concealed
5 3.7

Hidden so people cannot see it

How Revealed

to reveal
∞ 2.3
to come out
830 2.9
to leak
219 4.1

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 is like the truth stepping out of the dark into the light. So come out means 'to be revealed' or 'become known'.