rule out
Britishverb
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to dismiss from consideration
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to make impossible; preclude or prevent
the rain ruled out outdoor games
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Eliminate from consideration, exclude, as in The option of starting over again has been ruled out . [Second half of 1800s]
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Prevent, make impossible, as in The snowstorm ruled out our weekly rehearsal . [First half of 1900s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But he didn’t completely rule out a 50-gram version someday.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026
Such dismal inflation figures would appear to rule out any further Fed rate cuts this year.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026
“You can’t rule out surprises anymore in this race.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026
If we start with age, the trends suggest we can rule out 17 horses because they are either seven or older than 10.
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
“She forced it to go to that situation on the bus so that she could rule out Erudite—except Erudite wasn’t ruled out.”
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
