test out
test out verb: to try or experiment with (something or someone) in order to see if it works, is true, or is successful.
Verb
test out (third-person singular simple present tests out, present participle testing out, simple past and past participle tested out)
- To try or experiment with (something or someone) in order to see if it works, is true, or is successful.
- You will also have to test out any HTML code or Java applets that you include, and you will have to test the whole site once it is published to a server.2000, Robert S. U. Heathcote, Successful ICT Projects in FrontPage 2000, page 143
- Being an amateur artist, it suddenly occurred to her that, if artists can simply paint over their mistakes on canvas to hide them, why couldn't typists do the same? To test out her idea, she put some tempera water-base paint of the same colour as the paper she used in a bottle and took it to work.2003, Lloyd King, Test Your Creative Thinking, page 5
- To explore (something one has little experience with), especially to do so in a safe environment.
- But to really help the beginning painter get used to truly seeing the actual patterns, tape masking paper to the side of the paint booth and test out spray gun patterns on there.2005, JoAnn Bortles, How To Paint Your Motorcycle, page 91
- For example, the above patient might be able to test out his fears in sessions because he is thinking 'It's a hospital, there will be doctors to save me if I do have a heart attack'; but he may be unable to do the same thing elsewhere because of the lack of such reassuring facilities.2010, Martina Mueller, Helen Kennerley, Freda McManus, Oxford Guide to Surviving as a CBT Therapist, page 25
- To explore how (someone) responds to something; To feel someone out.
- However, Famous Players responded negatively when Borsos tested them out about showing the film.1977, Cinema Canada - Issues 34-47, page 1977-11
- And whenever I meet anyone I test them out about how they feel.1995, T. Robin Chapman, Encounters with Wales, page 60
- To demonstrate a certain result in a test, especially a successful result.
- How does it test out in comparison with the cement?1904, Ohio society of professional engineers, Proceedings of the Twenty-Fifth and Twenty-Sixth Annual Meetings of the Ohio Engineering Society, page 91
- If a ladder is used there are ladders that are used and we have tested them, and we have found that these ladders test out, so that they could carry a weight load of 1600 pounds.1970, United States. National Commission on Product Safety, Hearings - Volume 4, page 282
- To pass a placement test that enables one to avoid taking a course.
- Children who test out of classroom lessons and activities should not be asked to do more mathematical problems of the same type “just for practice.”2006, Michael J. Bosse, Jennifer Vickers Rotigel, Encouraging Your Child's Math Talent, page 68
- I would suggest first asking to test out of the grade level in order to subject accelerate.2018, Susan Wise Bauer, Rethinking School: How to Take Charge of Your Child's Education
Noun
test out (countable and uncountable, plural test outs)
- A trial; an experiment to see how or whether something works; the act of testing something out.
- I suppose the master electrician who performs that work on board ship, or the leading man, his representative on board, sees that done, and the final test outs show whether it is properly done or not.1910, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Naval Affairs, Hearings on the Proposed Reorganization of the Navy Department Before the Committee on Naval Affairs of the House of Representatives...
- We think a test out can be made for about $ 100,000, bearing in mind the test out is only to tool up and that most of the continuing services after the first year would be picked up out of better spent medicaid money.1972, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, Hearings, page 556
- A placement test that allows someone to skip a course.
- After I basked in the glory of getting through countless tests, skills test outs, and the stress, it was time to study and tackle the NCLEX exam.2010, Linda Anne Silvestri, Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN® Examination, page 22
- Burt talked non-stop he informed Teresa “everyone showed up for your two final class test outs and your personal test day.2013, Teresa Lambert, Outlined Teresa’s Story: Her Return, page 259
Examples of test out in a sentence
- At the same time, she was able to test out her belief that she would “go crazy” and get out of control if she allowed herself to experience strong emotions.2003, Aaron T. Beck, Arthur Freeman, Denise D. Davis, Cognitive Therapy of Personality Disorders:
- For example, car manufacturers use computer simulators to test out risky new ideas in a low-risk environment.2013, Benji Rabhan, Failure Is Obsolete:
- They're definitely the kinds of characters who don't want to be limited by anything and so they will test out the most difficult and the most unusual opportunities.2010, Geo Takach, Will the Real Alberta Please Stand Up?, page 126:
- The advantage of playing is that you can test out actions and emotions that would be too dangerous to act out in real life.2011, Barbara E. Hendricks, Designing for Play, page 12:
Forms of test out
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | tests out |
| present participle | testing out |
| past participle | tested out |
| past | tested out |
| Noun | |
| plural | test outs |
Questions about test out
- What does test out mean?
- Test out means to try or experiment with (something or someone) in order to see if it works, is true, or is successful.
- How do you use test out in a sentence?
- At the same time, she was able to test out her belief that she would “go crazy” and get out of control if she allowed herself to experience strong emotions.
- What part of speech is test out?
- Test out can be a verb or a noun.
- What is the past tense of test out?
- The past tense of test out is tested out.
Words near test out in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: test out (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “test out.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/test_out. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.