# snow out

CEFR B2 · Phrasal verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/snow-out
Updated: 2026-10-23

## Definition

to prevent an event from happening or a person from leaving because there is too much snow.

For teachers: to cause an event to be cancelled or a person to be trapped due to heavy snowfall. Transitive and frequently used in the passive voice.

## Examples

- The football match was snowed out yesterday.
- We were planning to drive to the mountains, but the blizzard snowed us out and we stayed home.
- The regional airport was completely snowed out, leaving thousands of passengers stranded in the terminal for the duration of the storm.

## Pitfalls

- Not "The game was snowed in." but "The game was snowed out." — use 'snowed out' for cancelled events; 'snowed in' is used for people trapped inside a building.

## Usage notes

- often used in the passive voice ('be snowed out') to describe cancelled outdoor events.
- Teaching tip: compare with 'rained out'; note that while 'snowed in' means being trapped inside a building, 'snowed out' usually refers to the cancellation of an event.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.