Bail out means rescue someone from trouble, often with money: an emergency loan bailed the theatre out. Friends bail you out without money too: thanks for bailing me out. Bail out of something means you leave it yourself: quit a project or a plan. In the news, a bailout is a rescue of a bank or company with money.
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bail someone/something out; bail out of an activity; a bailout
- An emergency loan bailed the theatre out.
- Thanks for bailing me out when my laptop stopped working.
- One partner bailed out of the project before construction began.
What changed
First versionThe emergency loan bailed out them.
RevisionThe emergency loan bailed them out.
Most verbs take the object straight after them, so bailed out them looks logical. But with a phrasal verb like this, a pronoun goes between the two parts: bailed them out. A noun can go in either place: bailed out the theatre or bailed the theatre out.
Help out is simple help, no crisis needed: help out in the kitchen. Bail out means getting someone out of trouble that has already happened: she bailed me out when I lost my wallet. Pulling out of a deal at the last minute is closer to back out of: he backed out of the deal.
Your turn
Choose the correct pronoun position: The extra funding helped ___.
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bail them out — The pronoun them goes between bail and out. With a noun both orders work, but bail out them sounds wrong.
Describe a time someone bailed you out of a tight spot: with money, equipment or practical help.
My colleague bailed me out by lending me a projector before the presentation.
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