To rescue someone from trouble, or to escape from a difficult or dangerous situation.
To help someone get out of a bad situation, or to jump out of a plane with a parachute, or to leave something before it gets worse.
4 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To rescue a person, company, or organization from financial or serious trouble.
"The government decided to bail out the struggling airline with emergency funding."
We will not bail out bankers who caused this crisis.
— Barack Obama, speech on the financial crisis, 2008
To escape or parachute from an aircraft in an emergency.
"The pilot had to bail out when the engine caught fire at 10,000 feet."
To remove water from a boat using a bucket or pump to prevent it from sinking.
"They bailed out the small rowboat as fast as they could after it started taking on water."
To withdraw from or quit a situation, especially when things become difficult.
"She bailed out of the project when she realized how much work was involved."
'Bail' originally referred to a bucket used to scoop water out of a sinking boat; 'bail out' literally means removing water to prevent sinking.
To help someone get out of a bad situation, or to jump out of a plane with a parachute, or to leave something before it gets worse.
Widely used in financial, aviation, and everyday contexts. In finance, it often refers to government rescue of failing institutions. In aviation, it literally means to parachute out. Informally, it can mean simply to leave or quit something.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
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