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Glite Dictionary
to come out of the closet

to come out of the closet

26 7.1
To tell people you are gay, lesbian, or bisexual
  • idiom
  • /kʌm aʊt əv ðə ˈklɒzɪt/
translation icon : salir del armario
  • After years of hiding, he finally decided to come out of the closet and live openly as a gay man.
  • just come out of the closet
  • want to come out of the closet
  • finally come out of the closet

Before we get to that, can I ask you how, how did you, how did you come out of the closet?

Examples

  • Sam says when he came out of the closet, Sally didn't just accept him.

    Blog text (6)

  • - I came out of the closet to my family the Summer I turned 19.

    29th and Gay (2005)

  • I see you finally came out of the closet.

    American Reunion (2012)

  • But you must not come out of the closet, all right?

    Good Deeds (2012)

  • Could the guy just come out of the closet, please?

    The Break-Up (2006)

  • So you finally came out of the closet.

    American Pie Presents: Band Camp (2005)

  • I thought he was finally coming out of the closet.

    Deathtrap (1982)

  • How did your parents take it when you finally came out of the closet?

    Blog text (14)

  • My parents have always supported me since the day I came out of the closet.

    Blog text (19)

  • Is there a reason why gay people feel they need to come out of the closet?

    Blog text (1)

Synonyms

to come out
vsto come out of the closet
217 6.5

To tell people you are gay, lesbian, or transgender

focuses specifically on sexual orientation rather than gender identity
to come clean
vsto come out of the closet
  • Informal
92 4.1

To say the truth about something you kept secret

applies specifically to revealing sexual orientation rather than any secret
to disclose
vsto come out of the closet
7 4.0

Make something visible by removing a cover

is used for personal announcements about sexual orientation not physical uncovering
to come out as gay
vsto come out of the closet
2 6.0

Tell other people that you are gay

does not focus on the first-time personal disclosure aspect

Antonyms

concealed
5 3.7

Hidden so people cannot see it

How Public

to reveal
∞ 2.3
to announce
∞ 1.5
to come out of the closet
26 7.1
to hide
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

come + out + of + the + closet

The phrase partly follows compositional logic: 'come out' can mean to reveal and 'closet' denotes a hidden private space, so a learner might infer 'reveal something hidden'. However, the specific meaning of revealing one’s sexual orientation is a culturally specific metaphor (the ‘closet’ = secrecy about sexuality) that a B1 learner who only knows literal word meanings is unlikely to deduce reliably without prior exposure or cultural knowledge.

Etymology

The idiom come out of the closet paints a picture of someone stepping out of a hidden small space. The closet stands for a private life kept secret, so to come out means 'to tell people you are gay'.