rough out
To make or prepare a quick, preliminary, or unfinished form of something, such as a plan or idea. They said they wanted to hear what I had in mind for the direction of the company, so I roughed out a few ideas ahead of the board meeting. Let's rough out an itinerary for our time in Italy.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
rough something out
to make a rough sketch of something. I will rough it out and have one of the staff artists attend to the details. Jane roughed out a picture of the proposed building.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
rough out
Also, rough in. Prepare or indicate in unfinished form, as in He roughed out several plans for a merger, or They roughed in where the doors would go without checking with the architect. [Second half of 1700s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
rough out
v. To prepare or indicate something in an unfinished form; make a preliminary sketch or plan of something: We met to rough out the agenda for the upcoming week. They roughed a plan out and estimated how long the project would take.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.