Phrasal verb
dip out
Definitions
01to leave a place
phr.v. to leave a place quickly or quietly, often without saying goodbye to everyone.
phr.v. to depart from a location or social gathering, typically in an abrupt or inconspicuous manner.
“The party was getting too loud, so we decided to dip out early.”
“He managed to dip out of the office before the manager could assign him any additional weekend tasks.”
Informal
Usage
Intransitive, or used with 'of' when specifying the place being left.
Teaching tip
Commonly used in modern casual English; similar to 'ghosting' a party but less negative.
02to withdraw from a commitment
phr.v. to stop being involved in something you planned to do.
phr.v. to withdraw from a previously agreed-upon activity, commitment, or responsibility.
“I had to dip out of the hiking trip because I felt sick.”
“Several investors chose to dip out of the project once the initial costs began to exceed the projected budget.”
Informal
Usage
Usually followed by the preposition 'of'.
Antonyms
03birdwatching
phr.v. to miss the chance to see a specific bird that you were looking for.
phr.v. to fail to observe a specific bird, particularly a rare species, at a location where it was recently reported.
“We drove three hours to see the owl, but we dipped out.”
“Despite waiting in the hide for several hours, the birdwatchers dipped out on the rare warbler.”
Informal · Technical · British English
Usage
Often used as a simple intransitive verb in this jargon.
Teaching tip
This is highly specific jargon used by birdwatchers (twitchers), primarily in the UK.
Synonyms
Teaching tip
this is a modern, informal alternative to 'leave' or 'sneak out'; it is very common in casual spoken English and social media contexts.
Phrasal verb
Particles
out
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
dip + out (+ of + object)
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/dip-out