blurt out

phraseC1informal · an editor’s judgementNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To blurt out is to say something suddenly that you had meant to keep quiet. The words leave before the decision does.

It splits round an object. What gets blurted out is nearly always a secret or something embarrassing, which is why the phrase is so often followed by regret. It suggests pressure released rather than a choice made. Children do it constantly and adults do it under stress. Let slip is the gentler equivalent and implies less volume.

Definitions of blurt out

1phraseblurt outTo say something suddenly and without thinking.C1
“He will blurt out the whole thing if anybody asks him directly.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 20 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

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blurt out

phraseC1informal · an editor’s judgementNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To blurt out is to say something suddenly that you had meant to keep quiet. The words leave before the decision does.

Definitions of blurt out

1phraseblurt outTo say something suddenly and without thinking.C1
“He will blurt out the whole thing if anybody asks him directly.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 20 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word