bailout

1 of 2

noun

bail·​out ˈbāl-ˌau̇t How to pronounce bailout (audio)
: a rescue from financial distress

bail out

2 of 2

verb

bailed out; bailing out; bails out

intransitive verb

1
: to parachute from an aircraft
2
: to abandon a harmful or difficult situation
also : leave, depart

Examples of bailout in a Sentence

Noun government bailouts of large corporations Verb if the meeting seems like it will never end, find an excuse to bail out the government bailed out the savings and loan industry
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Harry Reid, the Democratic Majority Leader in the Senate, had recently appointed her to a congressional panel tasked with examining the seven-hundred-billion-dollar bank bailout that George W. Bush had signed into law in October, 2008. John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2025 Fueled by their opposition to government bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis, the Tea Party gained significant momentum after the Democratic-controlled and House passed the Affordable Care Act in 2010. Katherine Fung, Newsweek, 10 Feb. 2025
Verb
Advertisement Now, however, the FAIR Plan is facing its biggest crisis since the 1994 Northridge earthquake, when it was bailed out by the state’s licensed property insurance companies, which operate the plan and provide it with a financial backstop. Laurence Darmiento, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2025 Lara’s plan enacts an insurance industry wishlist to reduce scrutiny of rates, make homeowners across the state bail out insurers for potential billions in FAIR Plan losses, and charge consumers for the cost of insurance that insurers buy in the global, unregulated reinsurance market. Carmen Balber, Rolling Stone, 17 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for bailout

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1939, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1925, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bailout was in 1925

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Cite this Entry

“Bailout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bailout. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

bail out

verb
1
: to jump out of an airplane with a parachute
2
: to help from a difficult situation

Legal Definition

bailout

noun
bail·​out ˈbāl-ˌau̇t How to pronounce bailout (audio)
: a rescue from financial distress

More from Merriam-Webster on bailout

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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