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weather out

B2 neutral separable transitive

To endure a difficult, dangerous, or unpleasant period until it is over.

In plain English

To stay strong and get through something difficult until it ends.

What does "weather out" mean?

2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.

1 B2 neutral

To endure a period of bad weather by staying in place until it passes.

"The sailors decided to anchor in the bay and weather out the storm."

separable
2 B2 idiomatic neutral

To endure a difficult or dangerous situation by persisting until it is over.

"The company managed to weather out the financial crisis without making any redundancies."

separable

Literal vs figurative

Words literally mean

To stay outside or endure through bad weather — directly reflects the figurative meaning.

Actually means

To stay strong and get through something difficult until it ends.

Usage tip

Similar in meaning to 'weather the storm' and 'ride out'. The metaphor compares surviving a crisis to enduring bad weather. Used in both literal (surviving a physical storm) and figurative (surviving a crisis) senses. More common in British English than American.

Words that pair with "weather out"

Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.

storm crisis recession controversy scandal winter

How to conjugate "weather out"

The five tense forms you'll use most often.

Base
weather out
I/you/we/they
3rd person
weathers out
he/she/it
Past simple
weathered out
yesterday
Past participle
weathered out
have + pp
-ing form
weathering out
continuous

Hear "weather out" in the wild

Listen to native speakers using "weather out" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.

Keep exploring

Jump to every phrasal verb built on the same verb, particle, or level.