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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

go out on a limb en · VERB

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. To take a risk.
    • He doesn't want to go out on a limb, but he really should give it a try.
    • Consenting Adult is probably worth watching, if only because it's not every day a TV movie is made about gay people. But don't expect too much. As long as groups like the Moral Majority have power, I doubt TV will be going out on much of a limb for us. 1985 February 9, Sally Jordan, “Consenting Adult (review)”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 29, page 15:
  2. To hazard a guess.
    • Well, Kevin, as always, I appreciate you going way way out on a limb with these predictions and you know, it's making me wish that I had, you know, perhaps gone further out on a limb. 2025 December 19, Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, “Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin' Xmas Song”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
    • We all see the way you stare at Kessia. From the way you two talk, it sounds like you knew each other on Kadara. I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess you came here for her. 2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Just go for it:
    • I’m going to go out on a limb here. You’re together?

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
went out on a limb Tense=Past lexicographic
gone out on a limb Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
goes out on a limb Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
going out on a limb Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic

Relateds

out on a limb