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rope out

C1 neutral separable both
In simple words

To use a rope to lower something or someone down, or to get out of somewhere by rope.

Literal meaning: To extend a rope outward or downward for the purpose of lowering or extracting — mostly transparent.

Meanings

1 C1 neutral

To lower someone or something down from a height using a rope.

"The rescue team roped out the injured climber from the rock face."

Grammar: separable
2 C1 neutral

To escape from or exit a location by means of a rope.

"The prisoner managed to rope out of the window during the night."

Usage notes

Quite rare and specialised — found mainly in climbing, rescue, and outdoor pursuits contexts. Less standard than 'abseil', 'rappel', or 'lower'. May also appear in ranch/cowboy contexts for roping livestock out of an enclosure. Not widely known by general English speakers.

Commonly used with

climber casualty livestock equipment cliff window

Forms

Base
rope out
I/you/we/they
3rd person
ropes out
he/she/it
Past simple
roped out
yesterday
Past participle
roped out
have + pp
-ing form
roping out
continuous

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