in and out
430
3.2
- idiom
- So you can kind of go in and out and touch it up more.
- move in and out
- go in and out
- slip in and out
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Watch on YouTubeThe UN kind of goes in and out of existence.
- The UN kind of goes in and out of existence.
- I think we're going in and out, yeah, so to speak.
- So I was in and out three days.
- Stuff would have been coming in and out like ridiculous.
- So they were going in and out on helos, helicopters going.
- you know, you get team players that come in and out, in and out, but they love America.
- So the spear went all the way in and out through the back.
- He's been in in and out of the hospital for certain illnesses.
- You know, I've seen my uncle in and out every month, not happy, no money.
Examples
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I've been kind of having friends come in and out for the past couple of days.
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How do you expect to get in and out of here?
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Do you have to get in and out really fast?
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I think we're going in and out, yeah, so to speak.
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We'll be in and out before anyone gets here.
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We'll be in and out of there before nightfall.
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Authorities have closed all roads in and out of Ennis.
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There's only one road in and out.
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They have the security footage from across the street that shows us going in and out of the hotel.
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We should be in and out in 30 minutes.
Synonyms
251
2.1
Going into and out of a place or activity many times
Antonyms
How Often
740
1.0
411
1.0
430
3.2
∞
1.0
407
2.0
508
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'quickly entering and exiting' is directly and transparently derived from the constituents 'in' + 'and' + 'out' — the conjunction signals alternation between the two opposite locative directions, so a learner who knows 'in' and 'out' can infer frequent or rapid coming-and-going. This compositional pattern is common in English and in other languages, making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
In and out comes from the simple picture of someone going in and then out of a place, again and again. So, it now means 'quickly entering and exiting' or 'frequently coming and going'.