to turf out
1
8.2
- phrasal verb
- /tɜrf aʊt/
- UK
:
expulsar
- But this seemed less likely than that Keevan would be turfed out, since the Weyr's need was for fighting dragons and riders.
- get turfed out
Examples
-
Conversation and interest will burst into a supernova of activity and then dissipate to nothing; you'll mark your entrance to the Halls of Fame with a party, only to be turfed out by the bouncers just as quickly because your impersonators have taken your place as the host.
Blog text (3) -
We gotta wrap him up and turf him out.
-
You've got to turf them out.
-
They turfed us out of bed... ...Iooking for drugs, right?
-
Unless the MCO library can raise independent funding in the next nine months, the scores will be sold to dealers or turfed out into the street.
Blog text (8) -
They had, after all, been close to being turfed out of the city when, from God's bounty, her husband found a place that enabled them to survive in this German exile.
Academic text (1999) -
After the manager found out about the theft, he decided to turf out the employee responsible.
-
The committee agreed to turf out any members who did not follow the new rules.
-
If a tenant doesn't pay their rent, they can be turfed out by the landlord.
Synonyms
948
1.9
To remove something from a place or container
512
3.0
Force someone to leave a place or group
338
3.0
To keep someone or something out so they are not part of something
236
3.0
To force someone to leave a place, job, or group
194
5.0
Force someone to leave a place, such as a school or country, often by official order
80
6.2
To remove someone from power, often suddenly or by force
70
3.8
Force someone or something to leave a place
46
4.4
To make someone leave a job by pressure or threats
43
3.0
Make someone leave a job or group because of a problem
37
3.5
To make someone leave their job
36
2.8
To make someone or something leave a place
32
4.2
Force someone to leave a place
31
6.2
Force someone to leave a group or place because others reject them
15
6.1
To force something or someone out of a place where they are stuck
15
5.8
Force someone to leave a job or organization suddenly
10
4.9
To force others out by taking more space, strength or attention
10
4.9
To make someone leave a place
10
3.6
Remove people completely from a place or group because they are unwanted
8
6.5
To make someone leave quickly to show they are not wanted
7
7.4
Make someone leave a group or job in a public, shameful way
4
7.9
Make someone leave quickly and forcefully
3
7.0
To force someone out of a place or job
1
4.0
To force someone to leave a place, group or job
1
7.1
To force someone or something out of a place by searching
1
5.0
To force someone to leave a place usually because they cause trouble
To stop employing someone, often suddenly as punishment
Antonyms
How Forceful
- UK
1
8.2
194
5.0
70
3.3
∞
1.5
- Informal
5
6.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The base verb 'turf' already carries the sense 'to expel', and the particle 'out' adds the clear directional sense of moving away, so the combined meaning 'force someone to leave' is directly derivable from the parts. This verb+out phrasal pattern is common in English (compare 'throw out', 'kick out'), making the expression immediately comprehensible to learners who know both constituents.
Etymology
Turf out may come from the picture of someone being pushed off a home or piece of land and onto the turf, the piece of grass and earth, then sent out into the open. That's why it means 'to force someone to leave'.