out of action 损坏，发生故障
The storm put the telephones out of action. 暴风雨使电话发生了故障。
The engine of the car is out of action. 这辆小汽车的发动机出了故障。
out of breath 气喘吁吁，喘不过气来
Can we have a rest? I’m a bit out of breath. 我们能休息一下吗？我有点气喘不过来。
We ran so fast that we were out of breath. 我们跑得太快以致喘不过气来。
out of character 不相称；不恰当
The actor’s American accent was out of character with his role as Hamlet. 这个演员的美国口音不适合扮演哈姆雷特。
It is out of character for him to say thing like that. 他说那样的话是不恰当的。
out of condition 身体不好，情况欠佳
I’ve had no exercise for ages; I’m really out of condition. 我已多时没运动了，现在健康状况欠佳。
I can’t go climbing this summer; I’m out of condition. 今年夏天我不能登山了――我健康状况不佳。
out of control 失去控制
The car went out of control and ran into a wall. 汽车失控撞在一堵墙上。
The demonstration got out of control and fighting broke out. 示威失去控制，继而发生殴斗。
out of danger 脱离险境
He is now out of danger. 他现已脱离危险。
They’re still following us; we’re not out of danger yet. 他们仍然跟着，我们还没脱险。
out of date 过时，已经不能用
Will denim jeans ever go out of date? 粗布牛仔裤会过时吗？
I must renew my passport. It’s out of date. 我要更换护照，这一本已经过期啦。
out of debt 还清负债，没欠债
I wish I could get out of debt. 我希望能还清借款。
Out of debt, out of danger. 无债一身轻。
out of doors 在户外
They work out of doors. 他们在户外干活。
We often have our food out of doors in summer. 我们夏天经常在室外吃饭。
out of fashion 不合时尚，不时兴的
Long hair is now out of fashion. 长头发现在已不时兴了。
That style of dress is out of fashion. 那种服装式样已经不流行。
out of favour 失宠；不受欢迎
Sir Walter is out of favour with the king. 沃尔特爵士已失宠于国王。
He felt out of favor in Vienna and went to London. 他在维也纳不受欢迎，就去了伦敦。
out of focus 不在焦点上，模糊，不清楚
This photo is out of focus. 这张照片不清楚。
【注】该短语的反义短语是in focus（清楚）。如：
This photo of John isn’t in focus. 约翰的这张照片不清晰。
out of hand 失去控制；脱手
His wrath got out of hand. 他怒不可遏。
These boys have got quite out of hand. 这些男孩已完全不受管束了。
out of hearing 在听不见的地方，离得远而听不见
Now they are out of hearing. 现在他们离得很远，听不见了。
out of humo(u)r 情绪不好，不高兴
He was a little out of humor. 他情绪不大好。
What has put her out of humour today? 今天什么事使她不高兴？
out of joint 脱臼；混乱，紊乱
She fell and put her knee out of joint. 她摔得膝关节脱臼了。
The delays put the whole schedule out of joint. 一再的拖延打乱了全部安排。
out of line 不成一直线；不一致，出格
One of the soldiers is out of line. 有一名士兵没站齐。
His ideas are out of line with reality. 他的想法与实际不相符。
Please excuse me if I’m out of line. 如有失礼之处, 请多包涵。
out of love 出于爱；不喜欢
He did so out of love. 他这样做是出于爱。
I’m out of love with meat at present. 我现在不喜欢吃肉。
out of luck 运气不好；不凑巧
The forecast’s not too good. You may be out of luck. 气象预报说近期天气不很好。你可能会碰上坏天气。
You are out of luck. He just left and he won’t be back for two weeks. 你来得真不凑巧。他刚走，而且两周内不会回来。
out of order 次序紊乱；损坏了；（因粗鲁而）不能接受
The room was out of order. 整个房间乱七八糟。
My watch is out of order. 我的表出毛病了。
That comment was completely out of order! 那种批评完全不能接受！
out of patience 不耐烦的
I was out of patience with his carelessness. 我对他的粗枝大叶已无法容忍。
We were out of patience with him. 我们对他耐不住火气。
out of place 不在适当的位置；不适宜
The chairs are out of place. 这几张椅子放得不是地方。
He felt out of place in their company. 跟他们在一起他感到不自在。
out of pocket 赔钱，亏本，白花钱
His mistake left us all out of pocket. 他这一错，我们大家都跟着赔了钱。
The deal left him hundreds of dollars out of pocket. 那笔生意使他亏了几百万美元。
out of practice 荒疏的
I can’t speak English fluently as I am out of practice. 我不能流利地说英语，因为我已荒疏了。
He has long been out of practice on the piano. 他已经很久没有练习弹钢琴了。
out of print （书等）已售完的，已绝版的
Her first novel is out of print now but you may find a second copy. 她的第一部小说现已绝版，不过你可以找本旧的。
She couldn’t find the book in stores because it is out of print. 她在商店里找不到这本书，因为它已经绝版了。
out of reach 无法拿到
He was out of the reach of their arrows. 他在他们箭的射程之外。
Put that bottle of weed out of the children’s reach. 把那瓶除草药放在孩子们拿不到的地方。
out of repair 损坏的，失修的
The machine is out of repair. 这台机器失修。
Our car is out of repair. 我们的车损坏了。
out of season 过时的，过了旺季的
Oysters are out of season now. 牡蛎已经下市了。
Hotel charges are lower out of season. 旅馆在淡季收费较低。
out of sight 看不见的
The steamer is now out of sight. 那艘轮船现在看不见了。
The next morning we were out of sight of land. 第二天早晨，我们看不见陆地了。
out of sorts 身体不适；脾气坏的，心情不佳
She was feeling out of sorts after eating lunch. 她吃过午饭后感到不太舒服。
Don’t pet the dog; he’s feeling a little out of sorts. 别去抚摸那条狗，它的脾气不好。
out of step 步调不一致；不协调；不符合
He’s out of step with modern life. 他与现代生活不合拍。
He seems to be out of step with his colleagues. 他好像跟同事们合不来。
out of stock 没有现货，脱销
The dictionary you wrote for is out of stock. 你来信要买的词典现在已脱销了。
out of style 过时的，不再流行的
Her dress is out of style. 她的穿着不时髦。
The frock is now out of style. 这种女上衣现在不时兴了。
out of temper 发怒的
The boss was out of temper with him yesterday. 昨天老板对他发脾气。
Your father seems to be out of temper with you this morning. 今天上午你父亲好像在生你的气。
out of touch 脱离，失去联系
I’m out of touch with most of the friends of my school days. 我已和大部分学生时代的朋友失去联系。
Old people sometimes seem out of touch with the modern world. 老年人有时似乎脱离了现代世界。
out of town 不在城里
He is now out of town. 他眼下不在城里。
We spend our weekends out of town. 我们惯于到乡下去度周末。
out of trouble 摆脱困境
He was kind enough to help me out of trouble. 他真好，帮我摆脱了困境。
out of tune 不合拍，走调；不一致，不协调
The piano is out of tune. 这架钢琴音调不准。
He felt out of tune with his classmates. 他感到与他的同学格格不入。
out of use 不再被使用
This old table has gone out of use. 这张旧桌子已废弃不用了。
The custom has gone out of use. 那种风俗已被废弃。
out of work 失业
He is at present out of work. 他目前失业。
James has been out of work for six months. 詹姆斯已经失业半年了。
……
本文摘自《飞扬英语语法系列之名词》（金盾出版社）