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Phrase(s): bail out (of something)
1. Lit. to jump out of an airplane with a parachute. • John still remembers the first time he bailed out of a plane. • When we get to 8,000 feet, we’ll all bail out and drift down together. We’ll open our parachutes at 2,000 feet. 2. Fig. to abandon a situation; to get out of something. • John got tired of school, so he just bailed out. • Please stay, Bill. You’ve been with us too long to bail out now., Phrase(s): bail something out
1. to remove water from the bottom of a boat by dipping or scooping. • Tom has to bail the boat out before we get in. • You should always bail out a boat before using it. 2. to empty a boat of accumulated water. • Would you bail this boat out? • I will bail out the boat., Phrase(s): bail someone or something out
Fig. to rescue someone or something from trouble or difficulty. (Based on bail someone out of jail.) • The proposed law was in trouble, but Senator Todd bailed out the bill at the last minute. • I was going to be late with my report, but my roommate lent a hand and bailed me out at the last minute.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
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1. Empty water out of a boat, usually by dipping with a bucket or other container. For example, We had to keep bailing out water from this leaky canoe. [Early 1600s] 2. Rescue someone in an emergency, especially a financial crisis of some kind, as in They were counting on an inheritance to bail them out. [Colloquial; 1900s] 3. Jump out of an airplane, using a parachute. For example, When the second engine sputtered, the pilot decided to bail out. [c. 1930] 4. Give up on something, abandon a responsibility, as in The company was not doing well, so John decided to bail out while he could still find another job. [Second half of 1900s] 5. See MAKE BAIL.
American Heritage Idioms