rule out
verb1
To cross an item out by drawing a straight line through it, as with a ruler.
2
Idiomatic To reject an option from a list of possibilities.
- As Jane Doe had an alibi, the police were able to rule her out as a suspect.
- In general, steel springs were stipulated for primary suspension, although rubber was accepted for auxiliary springing; hydraulic dampers were specified and the use of laminated springs ruled out.1960 December, “The first hundred 25 kV a.c. electric locomotives for B.R.”, in Trains Illustrated, page 726:
4 more examples
- The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has categorically ruled out any new negotiations saying the future of the Falklands can only be decided by the islanders themselves in accordance with the UN principle of self-determination.2013 January 3, Luke Harding, Uki Goni, The Guardian:
- Arson has not been ruled out in a fire that broke out Friday in Yungho, New Taipei, causing one death and 24 injuries, the city's fire department said that day.2014 September 12, “Deadly New Taipei blaze: arson suspected”, in Focus Taiwan, archived from the original on 03 Oct 2022, Society:
- Electrification of the Midland Main Line has not been ruled out.2020 April 8, “Network News: MML still on electrification agenda”, in Rail, page 23:
- He would be well advised to be cautious, despite the fragile ceasefire that the US President Donald Trump and the Emir of Qatar brokered. Though President Trump reportedly told Israel not to kill Iran's supreme leader, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not rule it out.2025 June 26, Kasra Naji, “When Iran's supreme leader emerges from hiding he will find a very different nation”, in BBC:
3
Idiomatic To make something impossible.
- The constant rain ruled out any chance of a game of tennis.
4
To disallow.
- And Martin Skrtel's late headed goal was rightly ruled out for offside.2010 December 29, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0 - 1 Wolverhampton”, in BBC:
5
To make unavailable.
- Flair and invention were very much at a premium, suffocated by the relentless pace and often fractious nature of proceedings. The absence of James Morrison from the centre of Scotland’s midfield, the West Brom man ruled out on the morning of the game by illness, had already diminished the creative capacity of the home side in that department.2014 November 14, Stephen Halliday, “Scotland 1-0 Republic of Ireland: Maloney the hero”, in The Scotsman: