1
: an act or instance of freaking out
2
: a gathering of hippies

Examples of freak-out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
After Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary this summer, some high-end real-estate brokers confessed to having something of a freak-out. Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 30 Oct. 2025 Ever since Bad Bunny was announced as the Super Bowl LX halftime headliner in September, there has been a far-right freak-out. Bethy Squires, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2025 But that possibility is literally dynamited in a vision Daria has of the home abruptly blown to smithereens, the destruction replayed in slo-mo to the crashing squeals of early Pink Floyd, itself a collapse of psychedelic rock’s utopian ideals into acid-casualty freak-out. Jake Cole, IndieWire, 18 Aug. 2025 The dog remained unfazed during Fowler's minor freak-out. Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025 Oasis’s last tour, in 2008, was riven by fights, freak-outs, and sibling rivalry. Air Mail, 7 June 2025 What follows is a melee of pratfalls and freak-outs, a guffaw-worthy display by such a fine group of actors. Nick Caruso, TVLine, 21 May 2025 Expect multiple scenes of the characters engaging in psychedelic frolics and freak-outs, some of which illustrate their backstories through sweaty, surreal vignettes. Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 19 May 2025 Every so often, the E.R. is visited by rats, little symbols of disrepair and instigators of slapstick freak-outs. James Poniewozik, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of freak-out was in 1966

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Cite this Entry

“Freak-out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freak-out. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.

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