sound out

verb

1. tr, adverb to question (someone) in order to discover (opinions, facts, etc)

Idioms and Phrases

Seek the views or intentions of, as in We'd better sound out Mom about who's using the station wagon , or Let's sound out the staff before we decide which week we should close for vacation . This expression derives from sound meaning “to measure the depth of water by lowering a line or lead.” It was transferred to other kinds of inquiry in the late 1500s, but out was not added for several centuries.

Example Sentences

There was a new algorithm that allows you to stretch sound out indefinitely.

From The Daily Beast

Politico described the meeting as part of a listening tour for Huckabee to sound out possible donors.

From The Daily Beast

They sat in silence for a long moment, the human's ears as keen for any sound out of the night as those of his companion.

From Project Gutenberg

To rule sound out of language, is, indeed, far more fatal than to purge Hamlet out of Hamlet.

From Project Gutenberg

Not another word or sound out of you now until the jobs done.

From Project Gutenberg

The she-bear did not answer, but there came a measured crunching sound out of the darkness.

From Project Gutenberg

The sixth bell 1600, and is thus inscribed: "Sound out the Bells, in God regoyce."

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• check out
• delve into
• dig
• examine
• inquire
• interrogate
• penetrate
• poke
• scrutinize
• sift
• verify