Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

out of the blue

/aʊt əv ðə ˈbluː/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.10 in modern English

Syllables: out- of the blue
IPA: /aʊt əv ðə ˈbluː/

20

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

prep_phrase

Unexpectedly; without warning or preparation.

Example Sentences

"After I hadn’t heard from her in six months, she called me out of the blue to meet for lunch."
"I really can't understand how something like this could simply pop up out of the blue."
"I've never done good things / I've never done bad things / I never did anything out of the blue"
"I deckhanded on a fish boat for four years and knew no fisherman likes to be called out of the blue and have his numbers demanded!"
"Just as it appeared Arsenal had taken the sting out of the tie, Johnson produced a moment of outrageous quality, thundering a bullet of a left foot shot out of the blue and into the top left-hand corner of Wojciech Szczesny's net with the Pole grasping at thin air."

Etymology

Short for out of the blue sky, likening an unexpected event to lightning or rain coming suddenly from a cloudless sky.

Phrases

bolt from the blue just like that next thing one knows out of nowhere thin air

Frequently Paired Words

bolt from the blue just like that next thing one knows out of nowhere thin air

Synonyms

unanticipated unforeseen unseen unlooked-for unexpectedly

Questions

How do you pronounce out of the blue?: The recorded pronunciation is /aʊt əv ðə ˈbluː/.
What does out of the blue mean?: Unexpectedly; without warning or preparation.
Where does out of the blue come from?: Short for out of the blue sky, likening an unexpected event to lightning or rain coming suddenly from a cloudless sky.

How to pronounce out of the blue

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “out of the blue”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/aʊt əv ðə ˈbluː/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “out of the blue”.
Repeat and practice — Say “out of the blue” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.