come out

verb

came out; come out; coming out; comes out

intransitive verb

1

a

: to come into public view : make a public appearance

a new magazine has come out

b

: to become evident

his pride came out in his refusal to accept help

2

: to declare oneself especially in public utterance

came out in favor of the proposal

3

: to turn out in an outcome : end up

everything came out all right

4

: to make a debut

5

a

: to openly declare one's sexual orientation or gender identity

came out as bisexual

decided to come out to her family

b

: to openly declare something about oneself previously kept hidden

—often used with as

blew his cover and came out as a CIA agent

—William Prochnau

coming-out

ˌkə-miŋ-ˈau̇t 

noun

Phrases

come out with

1

: to give expression to

came out with a new proposal

2

: publish

Synonyms

• fall out
• pan out
• prove
• shake out
• turn out

Examples of come out in a Sentence

in the end everything came out OK

come out, come out wherever you are!

Recent Examples on the Web

Emilia Pérez has come out ahead with a staggering 13 nominations. —Nigel Smith, People.com, 23 Jan. 2025

The likes of Costco, Apple and Delta have already come out publicly in steadfast support of a continuation of their DEI policies despite the current climate. —Gus Alexiou, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025

All 134 Risers, fallers and the winless FBS team Chris Vannini’s end-of-season ranking of all 134 college football teams came out this week. —Jayna Bardahl, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025

Staff did come out to expedite a few high-level guests to the front of the security line, diners said. —Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

come out

verb

1

: to come into public view

2

: to turn out to be

everything came out all right