To become extremely anxious, frightened, upset, or excited; or to cause someone else to feel this way.
Get very scared, upset, or excited — or make someone else feel that way.
4 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To become suddenly very frightened, anxious, or upset and behave in an uncontrolled way.
"She freaked out when she saw the spider on her pillow."
Don't freak out, but I think we're lost.
— Common conversational phrase; widely found in American film and TV dialogue
To cause someone else to become frightened, alarmed, or disturbed.
"The horror movie really freaked me out — I couldn't sleep afterwards."
To become overwhelmed by extremely positive excitement or awe.
"The fans freaked out when the band walked on stage."
(Historical) To experience or cause an intense psychological episode, originally associated with hallucinogenic drug use.
"The 1960s counterculture used 'freaking out' to describe psychedelic experiences."
Freak Out!
— Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention, album title (1966)
Very common in everyday informal speech. Can be intransitive ('She freaked out') or transitive ('That movie freaked me out'). Originally associated with drug culture in the 1960s but is now mainstream. The noun 'freak-out' is also widely used.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "freak out" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Jump to every phrasal verb built on the same verb, particle, or level.