down-and-out 1 of 2

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down-and-out

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noun

variants or down-and-outer

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of down-and-out
Adjective
He might be best known as the Minnesota-via-Brooklyn frontman of the Hold Steady, a punk bar-band wordsmith specializing in down-and-out tales with a Midwest flavor. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 6 Apr. 2025 Black stars as the video game’s main character Steve and Momoa plays Garrett, a down-and-out 1980s video game champ stuck in the past. Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025 Ron Howard is proud of his kid brother Clint, who recently had a guest run on the daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful as down-and-out musician Tom Starr. Lizzie Hyman, People.com, 5 Apr. 2025 The movie follows Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), a down-and-out former revolutionary who is in desperate search for his missing daughter. Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 27 Mar. 2025 The clan of oddballs and down-and-outs has more than a little in common with the Kim family in Parasite, including Song as a hapless patriarch. Stream on Max Mother (2009) The opening and closing scenes of Bong’s masterful 2009 film are, swear to God, among the greatest bookends in movie history. Alison Willmore, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2025 This quirky Turkish dramedy series tells the tale of a down-and-out sports betting writer for a newspaper who is roped into teaming up with the ghost of a bossy business tycoon demanding to crack his own murder case. Dana Feldman, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025 Mickey 17 stars Robert Pattinson as a down-and-out space colonist living in a high-tech dystopia overseen by a dictator played by Mark Ruffalo with signature relish. Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2025 Tesla is separating itself from the down-and-out auto industry and moving into the AI universe because of its self-driving work, using neural networks trained on video clips and a supercomputer to constantly make the software better. Jim Cramer, CNBC, 6 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for down-and-out
Adjective
  • Dell Technologies’ balance sheet appears relatively weak.
    Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Meta Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Newstead called the case weak and a deterrent to tech investment in a blog post on Sunday.
    Jody Godoy, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Criminal justice scholars say that when scores based on immutable facts are weighted so heavily in parole decisions, prisoners from impoverished, racially segregated communities are more likely to be hurt.
    Richard A. Webster, ProPublica, 10 Apr. 2025
  • The once-vacant lot across the street from her childhood playground on Washington Avenue is now home to Wilcox Academy, an early learning center that represents a powerful investment in a historically impoverished community.
    Raymond Pierce, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • On the investment side, strong gains for housing and stocks are widening the have/have-not divide.
    Russ Wiles, USA TODAY, 8 Oct. 2024
  • Investment gains widen the have/have-not divide This has been a year of rising personal wealth, with no signs of it abating.
    Russ Wiles, The Arizona Republic, 6 Oct. 2024
Adjective
  • Some parents worry that Alexa's high tolerance for rudeness instills poor behavior in their kids, according to Quartz.
    Emily Forlini, PC Magazine, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Road conditions are rapidly deteriorating, with the percentage of roads in poor condition expected to double in two years.
    Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Maresca’s post-match insistence that the Frenchman’s struggles are not down to a lack of effort felt as feeble and unconvincing as the sum of his contribution over 45 listless first-half minutes.
    Liam Twomey, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Salvi’s wife, Kathy, current chair of the statewide GOP, has the unenviable task of trying to rebuild what is a feeble Republican Party in deep-blue Illinois.
    Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 7 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • They were presumed to be paupers from Mexico, looking for charity.
    Richard J. Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Mar. 2025
  • He was made to leave a pauper after years of hard work.
    Kanak Kapur, The New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • This was the spring of 2020, however, and the impossibilities of international travel, and my dad’s frail health, delayed the journey.
    Eliza Griswold, New Yorker, 19 Apr. 2025
  • The op-ed also followed Biden's frail performance against President Donald Trump in the June 27 presidential debate.
    Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Extra hooks allow the bag to transform into a trapezoidal hobo shape.
    Joelle Diderich, WWD, 19 Sep. 2024
  • There’s a lot to love about Coach’s viral shoulder bag: the modern hobo style, the soft leather, the distinct shape.
    Lindy Segal, Glamour, 13 Sep. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Down-and-out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/down-and-out. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

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