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to going out

to going out

188 1.4
To leave your home to spend time with others, for example at a party or restaurant
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : salir
  • Peter had left a message on the machine, saying that he was going out with friends to play music.
  • going out with friends

Later, a group of us went out and had dinner that night.

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Examples

Synonyms

to go out
vsto going out
893 1.0

Leave your home to do something social, for example eat with friends

has the same meaning but used as a noun phrase instead of the base verb
to step out
vsto going out
234 2.3

Leave a room or building briefly

is about leaving home for social activities not brief short outings
to head out
vsto going out
167 2.5

To leave a place to start a trip

is for leaving to join social events rather than starting a journey

Antonyms

336 1.0

Be at home and not go out

How Social

to paint the town red
  • Informal
3 6.9
to party
  • Informal
298 3.0
to going out
188 1.4
to socialize
  • US
68 2.8
to step out
234 2.3
to stay home
336 1.0

Surface Forms

go out infinitive
going out present participle
goes out third person singular
went out past
gone out past participle

Morphology

going + out

The basic sense 'leaving home' is directly derivable from 'going' (moving/leaving) + 'out' (away from inside), so a B1 learner who knows both words will grasp the core meaning. However, the stronger pragmatic/social nuance of 'going out' (i.e. leaving specifically to socialize or attend events) is an extended/idiomatic inference not fully predictable from the parts, so the expression is not fully transparent.

Etymology

Going out comes from the simple image of going out through your front door into the street to meet other people or visit places. So it means 'leaving home' to take part in 'social activities' like dinner, parties, or visits.