come out of the closet

1. Of a non-heterosexual person, to reveal one's sexuality after having kept it hidden. Once you come out of the closet, you will feel so relieved. You have to understand that, back then, if you came out of the closet, you were risking your career, your freedom—maybe even your life. I came out of the closet in high school. It was certainly hard to come out at such a young age, but it's been wonderful having the support of my friends and family for my entire adult life.

2. To publicly reveal a secret. After months of tabloid speculation, the young starlet has finally come out of the closet and confirmed her divorce. I thought I would get made fun of once I came out of the closet with my love for anime, but it turns out a lot of kids at school like it too. A: "You knew that Eddie and Amanda were dating and you didn't tell me?" B: "Well, they hadn't come out of the closet with it yet. I knew they were keeping things very quiet."

See also: closet, come, of, out

come out of the closet

COMMON

1. If someone comes out of the closet, they tell people for the first time that they are gay. She felt that if she came out of the closet as a lesbian, she would be discriminated against. Note: People usually talk about homosexuals coming out, rather than coming out of the closet. I came out when I was still in my teens. Note: Closet is also used in other structures and expressions with a similar or opposite meaning. For example, if you talk about someone being forced back into the closet, you mean that they are being forced again to hide the fact that they are gay. The HIV Aids crisis threatened to push us all back into the closet. Note: You can also use closet before a noun in order to describe a person who hides the fact that they are gay. He was exposed as a closet homosexual. Note: `Out of the closet' was a slogan used by the Gay Liberation Front in the United States in the late 1960s.

2. If someone comes out of the closet, they talk openly about a belief or habit which they have kept secret until now. I suppose it's time I came out of the closet and admitted I'm a Labour supporter. Note: You can also use closet before a noun in order to describe a person who hides their beliefs, feelings, or habits. I'm really a closet greenie who likes to live close to nature.

3. When a subject comes out of the closet, it becomes widely known or openly discussed for the first time. `Prostate cancer came out of the closet,' he adds, `and men started to join self-help groups to talk openly about prostate problems.' Note: You can also say that you bring something out of the closet. The subject needs to be brought out of the closet and dealt with honestly.

See also: closet, come, of, out

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

come out of the ˈcloset

admit something openly that you kept secret before, especially because of shame or embarrassment: Homosexuals in public life are now coming out of the closet.

See also: closet, come, of, out

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

come out of the closet

in. to appear publicly as a homosexual; to cease concealing one’s homosexuality. (The phrase has many nonsexual metaphorical meanings.) They say he came out of the closet when he was eight years old.

See also: closet, come, of, out

come out of the closet

Reveal one’s homosexuality. This term began to be widely used in the second half of the 1900s and also has been shortened to come out. It refers to the older usage, closet homosexual, that is, one who is well concealed. It is occasionally used in a nonsexual sense, as in “Cathy’s come out of the closet about her peanut-butter binges.”

See also: closet, come, of, out

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