Iron out means sort out small problems or disagreements: we need to iron out the delivery details before we sign. The image comes from ironing: you smooth out the creases until the fabric lies flat. It's most often about contract details, glitches and disputes: they ironed out their differences during a short meeting.
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iron out problems / differences / details; iron them out
- We need to iron out the delivery details before we sign.
- The trial helped us iron out a few booking problems.
- They ironed out their differences during a short meeting.
What changed
First versionWe met to iron the remaining details before launch.
RevisionWe met to iron out the remaining details before launch.
Iron already means smoothing, so out can seem unnecessary: iron the remaining details. But without out, it's literal ironing. Only iron out means resolve problems.
Sort out means deal with almost anything: things, documents, a situation. Iron out means fix small problems and rough edges: iron out a few bugs. Smooth over means ease an awkward moment, even if the cause remains: she smoothed things over with a joke.
Your turn
There are two scheduling problems, but we can iron ___ this afternoon.
Show the answer
them out — The pronoun them goes between iron and out: iron them out. Iron out them sounds wrong.
Write to a colleague about the details you need to iron out before a joint event or trip.
Let's iron out the room arrangements before we send the invitations.
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