out loud

Idioms & Phrases

out loud

Audibly, aloud, as in I sometimes find myself reading the paper out loud, or That movie was hilarious; the whole audience was laughing out loud. First recorded in 1821, this synonym for aloud was once criticized as too colloquial for formal writing, but this view is no longer widespread. Moreover, aloud is rarely used with verbs like laugh and cry. Also see for crying out loud.

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