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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

38 2.0
To become loose and fall out, for example hair or teeth
  • phrasal verb
  • /kʌm aʊt/
translation icon : caerse
  • Look, my hair is coming out in fistfuls after my last treatment.
  • teeth come out
  • blood comes out
  • hair comes out

And so claws just come out of her hands like Wolverine.

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Examples

  • Look, my hair's coming out in fistfuls.

    Running with Scissors (2006)

  • The dentist said my tooth finally came out after weeks of being loose.

  • ...and see, my tooth came out!

    Rise of the Guardians (2012)

  • There are tunnels coming out everywhere.

    Wrath of Man (2021)

  • This calf has to come out now.

    The Holding (2011)

  • The whole damn house is falling down, and the county accessors won't even come out and look at it.

    Grim (1996)

  • Soft yellow tufts of stuffing came out of the arms where she'd worn the fabric through.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Dr. Xiang held the tube that came out of the baby's navel.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • After a week of using the shampoo, the color of my hair came out much brighter.

Synonyms

to emerge
vsto come out
249 3.5

To come out from behind or under something and become visible

also covers detaching from the body rather than only becoming visible
to come off
vsto come out
131 3.5

To become loose and fall off

can also mean emerging from under a surface instead of only detaching
to erupt
vsto come out
123 4.2

To suddenly start in a strong or violent way, often showing strong feeling

refers to physical detaching or appearing from under a surface rather than emotional bursts
to fall out
vsto come out
53 3.5

To come out and drop from where it grew or was held

can also mean emerging from under a surface rather than dropping away
to break through
vsto come out
43 3.7

To move suddenly through a barrier, as light or a person

usually means separation from a body surface rather than forcing past obstacles
to pop out
vsto come out
21 3.1

To come out quickly from a surface or container

is used for general separation or appearing from under a surface, not sudden bulging
to push through
vsto come out
4 3.8

To break through soil or skin when new growth appears

also includes becoming detached from the body, not only first time growth emergence
to come unstuck
vsto come out
1 5.8

To become loose and move away from a surface

can also mean emerging from beneath a surface rather than only detaching

Antonyms

to cling
240 2.1

To hold on tightly to someone or something and not let go

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 here is very literal: it describes something moving out from the body, like a baby tooth coming out of the gum or hairs coming out when you brush. So come out means 'to detach' or 'to emerge' from under the surface.