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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

217 6.5
To tell people you are gay, lesbian, or transgender
  • phrasal verb
  • /kʌm aʊt/
translation icon : salir del armario
  • For example, Saki explained, "I came out to my coworker because I liked her."
  • come out of the closet
  • come out to family
  • young people come out

Why I haven't come out on Instagram TV yet.

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Examples

  • Coach, I think it's time for me to come out.

    Shooting Stars (2023)

  • There were also times when gay students "came out" and acknowledged their sexual orientation.

    Academic text (2008)

  • I guess this is me coming out as bye...

  • One of my children came out as trans two years ago.

  • After years of struggle, he finally decided to come out to his friends about his sexual orientation.

  • She felt relieved when she came out to her family and received their unconditional support.

  • Many celebrities come out publicly to inspire others who are facing similar challenges.

Synonyms

to come out of the closet
vsto come out
26 7.1

To tell people you are gay, lesbian, or bisexual

focuses on public declaration without implying prior secrecy
to come out as gay
vsto come out
2 6.0

Tell other people that you are gay

applies to revealing any sexual orientation or gender identity rather than just one

Antonyms

closeted
13 7.2

Not open about who they love or their gender identity

How Public

to reveal
84 7.4
to announce
∞ 1.5
to come out
217 6.5
to hide
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

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

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 comes from the image of someone stepping out of a hidden place, often called a 'closet', to show who they are. So come out means 'to state openly' one's sexual orientation or gender identity.