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Showing results for sound out. Search instead for sound+out.
Synonyms

sound out

British  

verb

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
sound out Idioms  

  1. 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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Some Chicagoans are taking security measures into their own hands, establishing neighborhood patrols that sound out warnings when they see or suspect immigration enforcement operations.

From Barron's • Oct. 13, 2025

During a recent lesson, 25 kindergartners gazed at the whiteboard, trying to sound out the word “bee.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2025

There's clearly a big challenge for the monarchy not to look and sound out of touch.

From BBC • Mar. 2, 2024

She is expected to travel to Cyprus soon to sound out Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and the leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots, Ersin Tatar.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 5, 2024

“So boloney! It was all I could do to sound out the name of Dick and Jane’s dog.”

From "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg

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.