iron out

verb

ironed out; ironing out; irons out

transitive verb

1

: to make smooth or flat by or as if by pressing

2

: to resolve or work out a solution to

ironed out their differences

Examples of iron out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Tactical shortcomings remain that the club are working to iron out, which is why Digne, despite Emery essentially signing both Moreno, in his first Villa window in January 2023, and now Maatsen to replace him, is still first choice. —Jacob Tanswell, The Athletic, 25 Mar. 2025

While terms of the agreement still need to be ironed out and will not be completed until next month at the earliest, the City Council previously asked for several deal points to be included in any deal. —Devan Patel, The Mercury News, 23 Mar. 2025

The first hurdle is ironing out the major question of which digital assets the agency should require to get registered in the first place. —Brady Dale, Axios, 21 Mar. 2025

The prototype was functional but delicate, and Lenovo’s handler had a better grasp of how to correctly follow the operating procedures that would need ironing out if the idea were to be developed further. —Matthew Buzzi, PCMAG, 2 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1753, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for iron out

• roundabout
• runabout
• sauerkraut
• thereabout
• turnabout
• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout

Kids Definition

iron out

verb

1

: to make smooth or flat by or as if by ironing

2

: to work out a solution to

ironed out their differences