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freak out

 - 6 dictionary results

freak-out

  [freek-out]
Use freak out in a Sentence
–noun Slang.
1. an act or instance of freaking out.
2. a person who freaks out.
Also, freakout.

Origin:
1965–70; n. use of v. phrase freak out

freak

1  [freek]
–noun
1. any abnormal phenomenon or product or unusual object; anomaly; aberration.
2. a person or animal on exhibition as an example of a strange deviation from nature; monster.
3. a sudden and apparently causeless change or turn of events, the mind, etc.; an apparently capricious notion, occurrence, etc.: That kind of sudden storm is a freak.
4. Numismatics. an imperfect coin, undetected at the mint and put into circulation.
5. Philately. a stamp differing from others of the same printing because of creases, dirty engraving plates, etc. Compare error (def. 8), variety (def. 8).
6. Slang.
a. a person who has withdrawn from normal, rational behavior and activities to pursue one interest or obsession: a drug freak.
b. a devoted fan or follower; enthusiast: a baseball freak.
c. a hippie.
7. Archaic. capriciousness; whimsicality.
–adjective
8. unusual; odd; irregular: a freak epidemic.
–verb (used without object), verb (used with object)
9. to become or make frightened, nervous, or wildly excited: The loud noise caused the horse to freak.
—Verb phrase
10. freak out, Slang.
a. to enter into or cause a period of irrational behavior or emotional instability, as under the influence of a drug: to be freaked out on LSD.
b. to lose or cause to lose emotional control from extreme excitement, shock, fear, joy, despair, etc.: Seeing the dead body freaked him out.
Origin:
1555–65; 1965–70 for def. 6; perh. akin to OE frīcian to dance

Synonyms:
3. vagary, quirk, crotchet.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Slang Dictionary
freak (out)

  1. in.
    to panic; to lose control. : I was so frightened, I thought I would freak.
  2. n.
    a bad drug experience; a psychotic reaction to the drug LSD. (Drugs. Usually freak-out or freakout.) : Some of them get turned off to drugs by a really good freakout.
  3. n.
    a wild party of any type; any exciting happening. (Usually freak-out or freakout.) : There is a big freak-out at Freddy's joint tonight.
  4. n.
    a freaked (out)person. (Usually freak-out or freakout.) : Some poor freak-out sat in the corner and rocked.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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freak (so) out

  1. tv.
    to shock or disorient someone. : The whole business freaked me out.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

freak 
1563, "sudden turn of mind," probably related to O.E. frician "to dance" (not recorded in M.E., but the word may have survived in dialect), or perhaps from M.E. frek "bold, quickly," from O.E. frec "greedy, gluttonous." Sense of "capricious notion" (1563) and "unusual thing, fancy" (1784) preceded that in freak of nature (1847). The verb freak out is first attested 1965 in Amer.Eng., from freak (n.) "drug user" (1945), but the verb meaning "change, distort" goes back to 1911, and the sense in health freak, ecology freak, etc. is attested from 1908.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

freak out

  1. Experience or cause to experience hallucinations, paranoia, or other frightening feelings as a result of taking a mind-altering drug. For example, They were freaking out on LSD or some other drug. [Slang; mid-1960s]

  2. Behave or cause to behave irrationally and uncontrollably, with enthusiasm, excitement, fear, or madness. For example, The band's wild playing made the audience freak out, or It was such a close accident, it really freaked me out, or She freaked out and ended up in the psychiatric ward. [Slang; 1960s] Also see flip one's lid; wig out.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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