Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to veg out

to veg out

2 8.1
To relax and do nothing, often sitting and watching TV
  • phrasal verb
  • /vɛg aʊt/
  • Informal
translation icon : relajarse
  • We'll just veg out in front of the TV.
  • just veg out
  • veg out in front
  • veg out and watch

Examples

  • Students are so busy during the day that they have no energy left to do anything but 'veg out' in front of the television." (p. 10)

    Academic text (2004)

  • After a long week, I just want to veg out and watch my favorite shows.

  • We're gonna veg out and watch television.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • And I think that I personally still feel the need to veg out and not work.

  • Or maybe I should grab that bottle and veg out with you.

    A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

  • For me, I enjoy downtime after the kids are in bed, and I veg out in front of the TV.

    Blog text (15)

  • He closes the book and turns on the TV set to CNN to veg out.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Some nights I just want to veg out in front of a movie with my lover, Gavin Watson.

    Blog text (4)

  • On lazy Sundays, we often veg out in front of the TV with popcorn.

  • After finishing his assignments, he decided to veg out and play video games.

Synonyms

to do nothing
vsto veg out
888 1.5

Spend time without any activity

is intended relaxation rather than neutral inactivity and often involves television
to chill
vsto veg out
  • Informal
223 4.0

To relax and do very little

is more passive and implies a heavier, more inactive relaxation
to laze
vsto veg out
7 4.3

To spend time relaxing and doing very little

is more passive and implies doing almost nothing for long periods
to vegetate
vsto veg out
  • Informal
1 6.3

To spend time doing nothing or being inactive

is passive relaxation often chosen to rest rather than pure unproductive idleness
to veg on the couch
vsto veg out
  • Informal
1 8.9

To relax and do nothing while sitting or lying on a couch

is similar but not limited to a single place or posture
to veg and relax
vsto veg out
  • Informal
7.5

To rest and do nothing to recover from stress or tiredness

is more aimless passive downtime often done for simple leisure rather than recovery

How Relaxed

to veg out
  • Informal
2 8.1
to lounge
12 2.7
to relax
∞ 1.0
to rest
816 1.0

Surface Forms

veg out infinitive
vegged out past
vegged out past participle
vegging out present participle
vegs out third person singular

Morphology

veg + out

The sense 'to relax in a very passive way' is derived from 'veg' as a colloquial shortening of 'vegetate' (be inert) combined with the particle 'out' that marks a resultant/stateful action; this makes the meaning partially inferable. However, 'veg' is slang and the particle usage is idiomatic, so a B1 learner who knows the literal constituents may only partially predict the full meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

Veg out comes from a simple image: veg is short for 'vegetable' and out shows being completely that way, like someone sitting very still. That's why veg out means 'to relax and do very little', often sitting on the sofa and watching TV.