go-out

Noun

go-out (plural go-outs)

1. A sluice in embankments against the sea, for letting out the land waters when the tide is out.
   • John of Gaunt, "time-honoured Lancaster,," made Lincoln Castle his summer residence, and built a winter palace in the southern suburbs, near the Gowts (go-outs) bridge.1857, George S. Measom, The Official Illustrated Guide to the Great Northern Railway, page 90
   • There is a public-house in the parish of Burgh-le-March, near Boston, called the "Gowt," and I was told that it meant the go out, or junction of two drains, and that it was a common word in those parts .1871, Notes and Queries, page 276
2. A dog obedience training maneuver, in which the dog leaves the trainer and goes to a target (a white fence), turns, and sits there
   • This method of teaching the go-out is set up to take 11 days, but can be done in a week if your training sessions are scheduled properly.1979, “Teaching the Go-Out”, in Pure-bred Dogs, American Kennel Gazette, page 101
   • If you are a competition trainer, an immediate sit is paramount, whether the dog is sitting when coming to a halt while heeling, sitting at front, or doing a go-out.1999, Morgan Spector, Clicker Training for Obedience, page 213
3. A session of surfing, bodyboarding, windsurfing, or similar sea sport.
   • Up until then, I had only surfed Rincon a couple of times. And, they were short go-outs.2003, Herb Torrens, Paraffin Chronicles, page 77
   • Many business-related surf trips to Florida culminated in my moving to Cocoa Bach, in 1969, but my fondest surf memories are of LBI—especially early morning go-outs off Tebco Terrace in Holgate.2003, Caroline Unger, Surfing Long Beach Island, page 63