Home › Glossary › Letter O

Out like a light

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Out like a light|Idiomatic Phrase|Falling asleep very quickly and deeply; describes immediate transition from wakefulness to unconsciousness, often due to exhaustion.

Detailed Definition
Out like a light means to fall asleep, faint, or become unconscious very quickly and completely. In poetry, the idiom can describe exhaustion, sudden sleep, drunkenness, injury, childhood rest, or emotional shutdown. The image of light extinguished links consciousness with illumination, making the phrase richer than casual speech may suggest. A poet can use it comically after a busy day, or ominously when awareness is abruptly lost. It also invites comparison with darkness, death, and the fragile switch of life.
Example
Example in poetry:
A domestic poem might say the child was out like a light before the lullaby reached its second verse; In a comic ballad, the drunkard falls out like a light beneath the tavern table; The phrase means asleep very quickly or unconscious; A poet can use it to show exhaustion, peace, or comic collapse.
Additional Notes
Out like a light means falling asleep suddenly and completely, as though consciousness has been switched off. In poetry, it can be comic after exhaustion, drink, illness, childhood play, or long labour. The light image is useful because sleep becomes darkness arriving instantly. Students may compare it with hit the sack and catch some Z’s. This idiom suits colloquial voice and scenes where the body overrules intention.
Also Known As
asleep quickly
Skip to main content