Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook (51 page)

to yield to someone or something; to relent or give up an argument or opposition ♦
He finally
gave in
and let his son drive his new car.
♦
She refused to
give in
to her desire for sleep, and worked all night.

1.
to observe with great interest; to visit or experience, often entertainment or tourist attractions ♦
The baby
took in
all the sights and sounds of the fair.
♦
We
took in
a movie and then had dinner.
♦
We didn’t have enough time to
take in
all the museums in Washington, D.C.

2.
to understand; to absorb mentally ♦
The speaker gave us so much information that I couldn’t
take
it all
in. ♦
I
took in
all my parents’ advice — but I didn’t always follow it.

3.
to provide shelter for or to receive in one’s home for pay ♦
Their neighbors
took
them
in
for a few months after their house burned.
♦
My grandmother
took in
borders to earn extra money.

1. (S)
to make time in a schedule ♦
We hope we can
fit in
a trip to the East Coast this summer.
♦
I can’t
fit
another thing
into
my schedule on Tuesday. It’s full.

2.
to be in harmony or accord with ♦
I think this sofa will
fit in
well with our other furniture.
♦
This project
fits in
well with our overall mission.

3.
to be accepted and recognized as part of a group (non-separable) ♦
All children want to
fit in
and be liked by other kids.
♦
It’s a perfect group for you. I know you’ll
fit in
well.

1. (S)
to add into or include ♦
Owning a car is expensive when you
figure in
the cost of insurance.

2.
to influence or play a part in (generally not separated) ♦
Her experience
figured in
more than her credentials when she got the job.
♦
The warm climate definitely
figured in
to our decision to move to Florida.

to make time in a schedule, or add into a schedule as an extra element ♦
The doctor’s schedule is booked but we’ll try to
work
you
in. ♦
I
worked in
a trip to Vancouver while I was in Canada on business.

1.
to beware, be careful or cautious of, be alert to or on one’s guard; often used as a strong warning of immediate danger; often put
look out for/watch out for
♦ Look out!
There’s a car coming.
♦ Look out
for the wet paint. Don’t touch it.

2.
a warning to take special care in using something, said before, during, or after use; often put as
look out
or
watch out with something
♦ Watch out
with those chemicals. They’re pretty caustic.
♦
Hey,
watch out!
You almost hit me with your golf club.

to invite someone to go on a date; often put
to ask
someone
out
♦
Today, girls often
ask
boys
out. ♦
I finally
asked
Joyce
out,
and she said yes!
Note:
This idiom is used for romantic or potentially romantic dating situations. It’s less often used to refer to getting together with friends or family.

to go on a date or another event ♦
Let’s all
go out
to a movie tonight.
♦
Would you like to
go out
with me?
Note:
This idiom is often used for romantic or potentially romantic situations, but it’s also used between friends and family. It’s often put
to ask someone to go out.

1.
to take someone on a date ♦
Dad
took
everyone
out
to dinner.
♦
Lately I’ve been
taking out
this great girl.
Note:
This idiom can be used in either romantic situations or between friends and family.

2.
to put or take something outside ♦
Don’t forget to
take out
the trash for pick-up on Monday.
♦
He
took
his dog
out
for a walk.

3.
to remove, extract, or bring out from inside something; often put as
take something out of
♦
He
took
his hands
out
of his pockets.
♦
They had to
take out
the engine to repair it.

4.
to get a license, permit, loan, or other item by applying; not generally used for a driver’s license ♦
You have to
take out
a permit to sell goods on the street.
♦
He
took out
a loan to build his house.

5.
to subscribe to a magazine or newspaper ♦
She
took out
a subscription to
National Geographic
magazine.

to eat in a restaurant; often put as
eat
breakfast
out
and so on ♦
We usually
eat
lunch
out
during the week.
♦
They often
dined out
at the most exclusive restaurants.
Note:
Eat out
can be used for any meal, while
dine out
is generally used for a more expensive dinner.

to discover, learn, understand, or determine as a result of trial and error, practice, experience, or investigation ♦
After a few failures, they
figured out
how to put up their tent.
♦
He’s an odd person. I can’t
figure
him
out.

1. (S)
To discover or learn information from an inquiry, investigation, experience, or through word of mouth (usually not separated) ♦
They read the directions to
find out
how to put up their tent.
♦
He’s a private person, so I haven’t
found out
much about him yet.

2. (S)
to learn the truth or true nature of something; to become aware of the truth ♦
We didn’t know how humid Hawaii could be, but we
found out! ♦
He took his parents’ car when they were gone, but they
found
him
out.
Note:
The previous example sentence could also read “... but they
found out.
”
Grammar Note:
In this context,
find out
implies that one was previously uninformed or ignorant, and was surprised to learn the truth.

1. (S)
to inspect, investigate, or look closely for information ♦
I’ll
check out
a few Web sites on the topic.
♦ Check out
the appendix in the back of the book for a list of phrasal verbs.

2. (S)
to look at with curiosity or interest; to look with romantic or sexual interest ♦
Hey,
check out
this beautiful sunset!
♦
She saw him
checking
her
out
from across the room.

3.
to have one’s purchase totaled up and to pay a cashier, such as in a grocery store ♦
Are you ready to
check out?

4.
to pass inspection; to prove to be working or sound after examination ♦
We had the engine
checked out
before our road trip.
♦
The building inspector said that everything
checked out
okay.

1. (S)
to discover the cause of ♦
I haven’t yet
worked out
what was wrong with my printer.

2.
to exercise or train, usually in a gym; to make someone else exercise or train (separable) ♦
I
work out
three times per week.
♦
Our dance instructor
works
us
out
pretty hard.

3. (S)
to resolve a problem or find a solution ♦
The counselor helped them
work out
their differences.
♦
Don’t worry, everything will
work
itself
out
in the end.

4. (S)
to solve a mathematical problem ♦
She
worked out
all the math problems in her head.

to direct someone’s attention to something, to identify, or to show ♦
The instructor
pointed
our mistakes
out
to us.
♦
Our tour guide
pointed out
a number of historical buildings.

to be obvious, prominent, noticeable ♦
He’s so tall that he really
stands out
in a crowd.
♦
The pale lettering doesn’t
stand out
enough. Let’s make it darker.

to stop burning, such as a flame or electrical light; to overheat (get too hot) and stop working, such as an electric motor ♦
The candle
burned out.
I’ll relight it.
♦
The kitchen light just
burned out.
Let’s change it.

to suddenly and unexpectedly extinguish, such as a flame, or to turn off, such as electricity; to stop working, such as a motor ♦
The candle
went out
in the wind.
♦
During the storm, the electricity kept
going out.

to turn off or shut off electrical lighting ♦
Okay, boys, it’s time to stop playing and
turn out
the lights.
♦
Please
turn
the lights
out
when you leave the room.
Note:
This idiom sometimes means to turn off the lights and go to sleep.