LET OUT

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does let out mean? 

• LET OUT (verb)
  The verb LET OUT has 4 senses:

1. express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words)

2. make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret

3. bring out of a specific state

4. make (clothes) larger

  Familiarity information: LET OUT used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LET OUT (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words)

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

emit; let loose; let out; utter

Context example:

He uttered strange sounds that nobody could understand

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "let out"):

sibilate (utter a sibilant)

groan; moan (indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure)

hiss; sibilate; siss; sizz (make a sharp hissing sound, as if to show disapproval)

cronk; honk (cry like a goose)

hoot (utter the characteristic sound of owls)

quack (utter quacking noises)

meow; mew (cry like a cat)

chirr (make a vibrant noise, of grasshoppers or cicadas)

churr; whirr (make a vibrant sound, as of some birds)

cheep; chirp; chirrup; peep (make high-pitched sounds)

bellow; roar (make a loud noise, as of animal)

baa; blat; blate; bleat (cry plaintively)

bark (make barking sounds)

howl; wrawl; yammer; yowl (cry loudly, as of animals)

growl; grumble; rumble (to utter or emit low dull rumbling sounds)

give (emit or utter)

bray; hee-haw (braying characteristic of donkeys)

oink; squeal (utter a high-pitched cry, characteristic of pigs)

clack; click; cluck (make a clucking sounds, characteristic of hens)

low; moo (make a low noise, characteristic of bovines)

cackle (squawk shrilly and loudly, characteristic of hens)

gobble (make a gurgling sound, characteristic of turkeys)

neigh; nicker; whicker; whinny (make a characteristic sound, of a horse)

gargle (utter with gargling or burbling sounds)

caw (utter a cry, characteristic of crows, rooks, or ravens)

mew (utter a high-pitched cry, as of seagulls)

haw (utter 'haw')

hem (utter 'hem' or 'ahem')

croak; cronk (utter a hoarse sound, like a raven)

sing (to make melodious sounds)

smack (press (the lips) together and open (the lips) noisily, as in eating)

bite out (utter)

call (utter in a loud voice or announce)

gibber (chatter inarticulately; of monkeys)

crow (express pleasure verbally)

crow (utter shrill sounds)

trumpet (utter in trumpet-like sounds)

coo (cry softly, as of pigeons)

call; cry; holler; hollo; scream; shout; shout out; squall; yell (utter a sudden loud cry)

miaou; miaow (make a cat-like sound)

tsk; tut; tut-tut (utter 'tsk,' 'tut,' or 'tut-tut,' as in disapproval)

echo; repeat (to say again or imitate)

call (utter a characteristic note or cry)

shoot (utter fast and forcefully)

gurgle (utter with a gurgling sound)

cry (utter a characteristic sound)

nasale (speak in a nasal voice)

spit; spit out (utter with anger or contempt)

sigh (utter with a sigh)

troat (emit a cry intended to attract other animals; used especially of animals at rutting time)

lift (make audible)

pant (utter while panting, as if out of breath)

volley (utter rapidly)

break into (express or utter spontaneously)

heave (utter a sound, as with obvious effort)

chorus (utter in unison)

splutter; sputter (utter with a spitting sound, as if in a rage)

deliver (utter (an exclamation, noise, etc.))

hoot (to utter a loud clamorous shout)

grunt (issue a grunting, low, animal-like noise)

wolf-whistle (whistle or howl approvingly at a female, of males)

snort (indicate contempt by breathing noisily and forcefully through the nose)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

break; bring out; disclose; discover; divulge; expose; give away; let on; let out; reveal; uncover; unwrap

Context example:

The newspaper uncovered the President's illegal dealings

Hypernyms (to "let out" is one way to...):

tell (let something be known)

Cause:

break; get around; get out (be released or become known; of news)

Verb group:

break; get around; get out (be released or become known; of news)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "let out"):

muckrake (explore and expose misconduct and scandals concerning public figures)

blackwash (bring (information) out of concealment)

reveal (disclose directly or through prophets)

babble; babble out; blab; blab out; let the cat out of the bag; peach; sing; spill the beans; talk; tattle (divulge confidential information or secrets)

leak (tell anonymously)

confide (reveal in private; tell confidentially)

betray; bewray (reveal unintentionally)

spring (produce or disclose suddenly or unexpectedly)

come out; come out of the closet; out (to state openly and publicly one's homosexuality)

out (reveal (something) about somebody's identity or lifestyle)

blow (cause to be revealed and jeopardized)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something to somebody
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sense 3

Meaning:

Bring out of a specific state

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

bring out; let out

Hypernyms (to "let out" is one way to...):

let go; let go of; release; relinquish (release, as from one's grip)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 4

Meaning:

Make (clothes) larger

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

let out; widen

Context example:

Let out that dress--I gained a lot of weight

Hypernyms (to "let out" is one way to...):

alter; change; vary (become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one's or its former characteristics or essence)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Antonym:

take in (make (clothes) smaller)

 Context examples 

I have an idea that Van Helsing thinks he knows, too, but he will only let out enough at a time to whet curiosity.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

That we, the neophytes, might have an excess of light shining upon us all at once, orders were given to let out Twenty Eight.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

It had a cock near the bottom to let out the water, when it began to grow stale; and two servants could easily fill it in half an hour.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

When the theatre let out, the two gangs strung along inconspicuously on opposite sides of the street.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

And one day, catching one of his enemies alone on the edge of the woods, he managed, by repeatedly overthrowing him and attacking the throat, to cut the great vein and let out the life.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Now it was Mr. Wickfield, now Agnes, now the excellence of Mr. Wickfield, now my admiration of Agnes; now the extent of Mr. Wickfield's business and resources, now our domestic life after dinner; now, the wine that Mr. Wickfield took, the reason why he took it, and the pity that it was he took so much; now one thing, now another, then everything at once; and all the time, without appearing to speak very often, or to do anything but sometimes encourage them a little, for fear they should be overcome by their humility and the honour of my company, I found myself perpetually letting out something or other that I had no business to let out and seeing the effect of it in the twinkling of Uriah's dinted nostrils.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

He has been eight years upon a project for extracting sunbeams out of cucumbers, which were to be put in phials hermetically sealed, and let out to warm the air in raw inclement summers.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

We had only one check to our pleasure, and that happened a little while before I took my leave, when, Miss Mills chancing to make some allusion to tomorrow morning, I unluckily let out that, being obliged to exert myself now, I got up at five o'clock.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)