come out — declare sexual orientation
phrasal verbC1IELTS 7+neutralcommon
To publicly reveal that you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or otherwise not heterosexual, often after having kept it private.
Say it like a native
Textbook He publicly disclosed his homosexuality to his family.
Native He came out to his family.
'Come out' is the established, respectful term; 'publicly disclosed his homosexuality' is clinical and dated.
Pattern: come out (as [sexual orientation])
In use
- After years of hiding his true self, he finally decided to come out at the age of 25.identity
- In recent years, more public figures have chosen to come out, which has contributed to greater acceptance and understanding within society.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ He came out himself as gay.
✓ He came out as gay. / He came out to his parents.
No reflexive — 'come out as X' or 'come out to someone'.
Common collocations
come out + as/to— as gay, to his parents, as bisexual, at work
Don't confuse it
Unlike the B2 sense 'become known (information, truth, secret)', this sense is specifically about publicly declaring one's sexual orientation or gender identity, not just any secret or information.
Related
- come out (be released (for books, movies, products, etc.)) — 'come out' also has the more basic meaning 'be released (for books, movies, products, etc.)'; this is the advanced sense.