to stay out of it
56
3.8
- phrasal verb
:
no meterse
- Maybe it's best for you to stay out of it and let Veronica figure it out for herself.
- just stay out of it
- try to stay out of it
- want to stay out of it
And DoD probably has to, you know, stay out of it.
- And DoD probably has to, you know, stay out of it.
- So Chapic's first instinct was to stay out of it.
- And then my other side says stay out of it.
- And a third were with, with the English and a third just kind of stayed out of it.
- Just turn your phone off because people are so hard either way, if you're in the middle, just stay out of it.
- You know, the world works so much better when I just kind of stay out of it and just go along with the process that's being kind of pushed in my direction.
Examples
-
If the argument doesn't involve you, just stay out of it and avoid the drama.
-
The international community should stay out of it and let us do what we need to do.
Blog text (30) -
So we're trying to stay out of it by walking around.
-
Because I was trying to stay out of it.
-
We have to stay out of it.
-
You should stay out of it.
-
For your own good, just stay out of it, Jack.
Fiction book (2000) -
I've done my best to stay out of it.
Fiction book (2002) -
The grandmother detested him, but she stayed out of it, not wanting to make things worse for Katie.
Fiction book (2002) -
Stay out of it.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To stay away from something or not do it to stop something bad from happening
590
1.6
Keep a distance from people or things you want to avoid
384
2.3
Avoid going near people or places for safety
370
3.5
To choose not to react to something annoying
356
2.8
Move away from someone, or stop taking part in something
87
4.2
Choose not to do something you want to do
50
3.5
To choose not to take part in something
42
3.6
Not to touch or interfere with something that belongs to someone else
41
6.3
Avoid getting noticed to stay out of trouble
35
5.8
Tell someone not to ask about or get involved in other people's lives
34
4.0
To stay away from people and things that may cause trouble or harm
32
3.9
To stay away from people or things to avoid close contact
31
1.0
To stay outside a place and not go in
25
8.9
To stop getting involved in other people's business
23
8.9
To avoid something on purpose
10
6.3
To avoid getting too close to someone or something, often emotionally
5
7.7
To ignore a problem instead of dealing with it
4
6.9
Avoid talking about old problems to prevent more arguments
2
3.0
Choose not to touch or change something
1
6.0
To avoid answering a difficult question by changing the subject
1
6.8
To avoid talking about a controversial issue on purpose
To not ask about or get involved in someone's private matters
Antonyms
How Involved
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to deliberately avoid becoming involved' is directly derivable from the parts: 'stay' (remain) + 'out' (away/external) + 'of it' (from the situation). This compositional spatial/metaphorical mapping (stay out of X = remain outside of X) is common across languages and follows a clear English pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should understand it.
Etymology
The phrase stay out of it gives a simple image: someone who stays out of a room where people are arguing, not going in. So it means 'to avoid getting involved' in a problem or argument.