rule out

Verb

rule out (third-person singular simple present rules out, present participle ruling out, simple past and past participle ruled out)

1. (transitive) To cross an item out by drawing a straight line through it, as with a ruler.
2. (idiomatic, transitive) To reject an option from a list of possibilities.
   • As Jane Doe had an alibi, the police were able to rule her out as a suspect.
   • In general, steel springs were stipulated for primary suspension, although rubber was accepted for auxiliary springing; hydraulic dampers were specified and the use of laminated springs ruled out.1960 December, “The first hundred 25 kV a.c. electric locomotives for B.R.”, in Trains Illustrated, page 726

   Synonyms:

   eliminate, reject

3. (idiomatic, transitive) To make something impossible.
   • The constant rain ruled out any chance of a game of tennis.

   Synonyms:

   preclude

4. (transitive) To disallow.
   • And Martin Skrtel's late headed goal was rightly ruled out for offside.2010 December 29, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0 - 1 Wolverhampton”, in BBC
5. (transitive) To make unavailable.
   • Flair and invention were very much at a premium, suffocated by the relentless pace and often fractious nature of proceedings. The absence of James Morrison from the centre of Scotland’s midfield, the West Brom man ruled out on the morning of the game by illness, had already diminished the creative...2014 November 14, Stephen Halliday, “Scotland 1-0 Republic of Ireland: Maloney the hero”, in The Scotsman