ENGLISH
REFERENCE

flip out

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford American English Informal

phr. v.. to suddenly become very angry, excited, or scared and lose control of your emotions.

phr. v.. to react with sudden, intense emotion or irrational behavior; typically functions as an intransitive phrasal verb indicating a loss of composure.


SIMPLE

My mom will flip out if she sees this mess.

CONTEXTUAL

He completely flipped out when he realized he had lost his passport just hours before the flight.

COMPLEX

The crowd flipped out as the lead singer unexpectedly jumped into the front row during the final chorus of the set.

Particles
out
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
flip + out
Usage

usually used without an object to describe a person's sudden emotional reaction.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'freak out' (very similar) and 'lose it'; 'flip out' often implies a more explosive or visible reaction than just being worried.

Pitfall

He flipped out his boss.He flipped out at his boss.when directed at a person, the preposition 'at' is required because the verb is intransitive in this sense.

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