Go out means to leave home to go somewhere and enjoy yourself: to a café, to the cinema, for a walk. “Go out with” + a person often means to be in a romantic relationship with them. About a light or a fire, “go out” means to stop shining or burning: The lights went out.
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go out (for a meal/walk); go out + -ing; go out with + person; go out of + room/building
- We don't go out much during the week because we both start work early.
- It's such a nice evening. Let's go out for a walk after dinner.
- Sara has been going out with a guy from her gym for about six months.
What changed
First versionOn Saturday I'm walking with friends, so I won't be home for dinner.
RevisionOn Saturday I'm going out with friends, so I won't be home for dinner.
“Walk with friends” means walking on foot together, and the listener will picture exactly that. When you spend the evening out, in a café, a bar or the cinema, say “go out”. If you really are walking, “go for a walk” works.
“Go out with friends” simply means spending an evening with friends. But if “with” is followed by one person, the phrase may be understood as romance: How long have you been going out with Tom? means “How long have you and Tom been a couple?” For a friendly meeting, it is safer to say I'm meeting Tom for a coffee.
Your turn
Mark doesn't want to stay in on Friday night, so he's going to ___ with his friends to a new bar.
Show the answer
go out — Mark doesn't want to stay at home and is going to a bar with friends, so he is spending the evening out: “go out”. “Go outside” just means to leave a building, for example to get some fresh air, and does not fit a trip to a bar.
Describe how you like to spend an evening out. Say where you usually go and who with.
On Friday evenings I like to go out to a small Georgian restaurant with my two best friends from school.
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