zone out



zone out

to not notice or stop being interested in what is happening around you When I'm dancing I zone out and feel like I'm the only one in the room. I just flew in from Europe this morning, so don't get upset if I just zone out in the middle of the meeting.
See also: out, zone

zone out

Stop paying attention, dissociate oneself from a situation. Also, engage in a mindless activity. For example, When Felicia starts talking about her ailments and her friends' ailments, I totally zone out . This idiom also occurs in the passive, be zoned out. It originally alluded to narcotic intoxication and then was broadened to other kinds of dissociation. For a near synonym, see tune out, def. 2. [Slang; second half of 1900s]
See also: out, zone

zone out

v. Slang
1. To lose concentration or become inattentive: I sensed the class was zoning out, so I started talking louder.
2. To lose awareness of one's surroundings: An hour after I took the cough syrup, I lay back in bed and zoned out.
3. To refuse to pay attention to someone or something; ignore someone or something: The athlete zoned out the jeering crowd and made the free-throw shot. Every time I try to give you advice, you zone out everything I say.
4. To cause someone or something to lose awareness of one's surroundings: The medication that I take zones me out.
5. To exclude someone or something by restricting a section of an area or territory: Farmers complain that the government has zoned them out of the best farmland. The city zoned out adult entertainment companies.
See also: out, zone

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Dawson['dɔ:sn]
Azra-Arabic, Turkish, Bosnian, Persian, Urdu
Zayd-Arabic
Ranierorah-NYE-roItalian
SeÁNSHAWNIrish
Caelinus-Ancient Roman