Phrase guide

down but not out

adj · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈdaʊn bət nɒt ˈaʊt/
  • General-American: /ˈdaʊn bət nɑt ˈaʊt/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Temporarily incapacitated but not permanently defeated.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

A reference to the sport of boxing, where a boxer has been incapacitated by an opponent but not yet knocked out.

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 挫而不折 (cuò'érbùzhé) — temporarily incapacitated but not permanently defeated
  • Finnish: maassa muttei tyrmätty — temporarily incapacitated but not permanently defeated