Go out meaning
Go out means to leave your home to do something fun. It can also mean to have a romantic relationship with someone.
go out
go out · went · gone · going
Do you want to go out tonight?
Go out meanings and examples
4 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Leave your home to do something fun
go out
- Do you want to go out tonight?
- We went out for pizza after work.
- I’m too tired. I’m not going out this weekend.
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2
Have a romantic relationship with someone
go out
- They went out for two years before they got married.
- Is she going out with Sam?
- How long have you two been going out?
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3
Stop burning or shining, for a fire or a light
go out
- All the lights went out during the storm.
- Don’t let the fire go out.
- The candle went out when I opened the door.
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4
Lose a game and leave a competition
go out
- Spain went out in the first round.
- We went out of the cup on penalties.
- Which team went out last night?
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use go out in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is go out separable?
Go out has no object. To name the place or the person, add a preposition: go out for dinner, go out with friends, go out of the room.
Go out with one person usually means date them. To say you spent the evening with friends, use the plural: I went out with friends last night.
Verb tenses for go out
| Present | I go out · she goes out |
|---|---|
| Past | went out |
| Present perfect | have gone out |
| -ing form | going out |
Common mistakes with go out
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: Let’s go out for eat tonight.
Right: Let’s go out to eat tonight.
Use for plus a noun (for dinner) or to plus a verb (to eat).
Wrong: The fire went off in the night.
Right: The fire went out in the night.
Fires and candles go out. Alarms go off.
Wrong: She goes out with him since May.
Right: She’s been going out with him since May.
With since, use the present perfect.
Synonyms and opposites of go out
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- hang outspend relaxed time with friends, often at home
- eat outhave a meal in a restaurant
- datethe usual US word for going out with someone
Go out quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1It’s Friday! Do you want to ___ tonight?
Go out means leave home to have fun.
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2Choose the right sentence.
A candle or fire goes out when it stops burning.
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3Ben and Lucy have been going out for a year. What does it mean?
Going out with someone means being in a relationship.
More phrasal verbs with go
All phrasal verbs with go, by level, with an exercise
16 phrasal verbs start with go. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
- go backA1return to a place where you were before
- go inA2enter a room or a building
- go intoA2enter a place
- go onB1continue, or last for a period of time
- go awayB1leave a person or a place
- go downB1become lower, like a price, a number or a temperature
- go upB1become higher, like a price, a number or a temperature
- go forB1choose something
- go withB1look or taste good together with something
- go offB2start ringing loudly, like an alarm, or explode, like a bomb
- go throughB2live through a difficult or unpleasant time
- go overB2check something carefully, looking for mistakes
- go aroundB2be enough for everyone in a group to have some
- go aheadB2start or continue doing something you planned
- go afterB2follow or chase someone to catch them or talk to them
Go out FAQ
Questions people ask about go out.
What is the difference between go out and get out?
Go out means leave home for something fun. Get out often means leave a car or a place, sometimes quickly or with effort.
What does go out of fashion mean?
It means stop being popular: Those jeans went out of fashion years ago.
What does the tide goes out mean?
It means the sea moves back from the beach: When the tide goes out, you can walk to the little island.
Use go out in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.