ENGLISH
REFERENCE

get out of sth

phr. v..
A2 Elementary Oxford

phr. v.. To avoid a responsibility or duty, often by making an excuse. You use this when you find a way to not do something you are supposed to do.

phr. v.. To evade or escape a duty, responsibility, or unpleasant situation. This phrasal verb is transitive and informal.


SIMPLE

He wants to get out of washing the dishes.

CONTEXTUAL

She pretended to be sick to get out of the meeting this morning.

COMPLEX

The disgraced executive could not get out of testifying before the committee, despite his lawyer's best efforts to find a legal loophole.

Particles
out of
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
get + out + of + object
Usage

The object is typically a responsibility, chore, or social event that one wishes to avoid.

Teaching tip

Contrast this figurative meaning (avoiding a duty) with the literal meaning of exiting a physical space, like 'get out of the car'.

Pitfall

I need to get out this work.I need to get out of this work.The preposition 'of' is required to connect the verb to the thing being avoided.

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