Useful English Word or Phrase to Boost Your English: Out of Hand

What does it mean?

Out of hand means that something is no longer controllable or manageable. It suggests a situation that has spiralled into chaos.

Is it positive or negative?

It is strongly negative - it describes loss of control.

When do you use it?

Use it when describing a situation that becomes excessive, chaotic, or uncontrollable - like parties, spending, or arguments.

Examples

Example 1: The party got completely out of hand, and the police showed up.

Example 2: My spending has gotten out of hand - I really need to stop shopping online.

Question for you

Has anything in your life ever gotten out of handWhat happened?

Are you looking for English speaking practice online?

Are you looking for English speaking practice online? Don't let your struggle for fluency get out of hand! If you want structure and control, you've found the right website. I offer online English lessons using Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom for my high-quality classes. My English speaking lessons are perfect if you are not getting enough speaking practice and want to improve your spoken fluency, accuracy, and learn nice, natural vocabulary and expressions directly from a British native speaker. If you want to study English with a British native speaker online, you can find out more about lessons here. For another useful word, see get off on something.