come out — appear (become visible or attend)
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
To appear or become visible, or to go somewhere, especially after being hidden or not present.
Say it like a native
Textbook The sun became visible in the afternoon.
Native The sun came out in the afternoon.
For the sun, stars or moon appearing, 'come out' is the idiom; 'became visible' sounds like a robot wrote the weather report.
Pattern: come out (from/behind/into)
In use
- The sun finally came out after a week of rain.daily life
- When I was a child, I was shy and didn’t come out much, but now I enjoy meeting new people.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ Why don't you come out us tonight?
✓ Why don't you come out with us tonight?
To join someone socially it's 'come out with' — don't drop 'with'.
Common collocations
come out + appear/join— the sun, with us, tonight, the stars
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'go out' (to leave a place to do something).
Related
- come out (be released (for books, movies, products, etc.)) — Another meaning of 'come out' is 'be released (for books, movies, products, etc.)'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.