rule out

verb

ruled out; ruling out; rules out
Synonyms of rule outnext

transitive verb

1
: exclude, eliminate
They were ruled out as candidates for the job.
2
: to make impossible : prevent
Heavy rain ruled out the picnic.

Synonyms of rule out

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of rule out in a Sentence

another loss would rule them out of the tournament
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Advocates for underserved students have not ruled out a repeat of lawsuits if the tests return. — Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026 That rules out any possibility of an electronic monitor while in office. — ABC News, 8 July 2026 The president, however, did not rule out talks continuing to permanently end the war with Iran. — Deepa Shivaram, NPR, 8 July 2026 But the play was ruled out for a foul by Marawan Attia on Lisandro Martínez at the other side of the pitch just as the Egyptians broke away. — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 7 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for rule out

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1658, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of rule out was circa 1658

Rhymes for rule out

See All Rhymes for rule out

Browse Nearby Words

rule of two and three
rule out
rule out of
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rule out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rule%20out. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

rule out

verb
: to eliminate the possibility of

More from Merriam-Webster on rule out

Nglish: Translation of rule out for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tacit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All