Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Completely without money, resources, or prospects; destitute and hopeless: Describes a person who has lost all financial means and social standing, with little or no chance of improvement in their situation.
   • Physically and mentally exhausted, defeated: Can also describe a state of being utterly worn out, beaten down, or defeated by life's circumstances.

2. Noun:

   • A person who is destitute and without prospects: Refers to an individual, often homeless, who has no money, job, or resources and is seen as being at the bottom of society.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:

  • After losing his job and home, he felt completely down-and-out.
  • The charity provides hot meals for the down-and-out men and women sleeping on the streets.

• Noun:

  • The shelter offers a bed and a warm meal for any down-and-out who needs it.
  • He was once a successful businessman, but now he's just another down-and-out.

Advanced Usage

• Used attributively (as an adjective before a noun): This is the most common usage.

  • The novel paints a vivid picture of down-and-out life in the city.

• Used as a compound adjective hyphenated: The term is almost always written with hyphens: down-and-out.

Variants and Related Words

• Down-and-outer (noun): A less common variant meaning the same as the noun "down-and-out."

  • The mission was filled with down-and-outers seeking a meal.

• Down on one's luck: A related idiom describing temporary misfortune, but without the same connotation of permanent hopelessness as "down-and-out."

  • He's just down on his luck right now; I'm sure he'll find a new job soon.

Synonyms

• Destitute (adj): Lacking the necessities of life; extremely poor.
• Penniless (adj): Having no money.
• Indigent (adj, formal): Poor; needy.
• Derelict (n): A person without a home, job, or property.

Antonyms

• Prosperous (adj): Successful and wealthy.
• Affluent (adj): Having a great deal of money; wealthy.
• Well-to-do (adj): Rich; prosperous.

Related Idioms

• On the skids: In a state of decline or failure, often leading to a "down-and-out" situation.
  • His career has been on the skids since the scandal.
• Out on the street: To be homeless or evicted.
  • If I don't pay the rent, I'll be out on the street.

Noun

1. a person who is destitute
   • he tried to help the down-and-out

Adjective

1. lacking resources (or any prospect of resources)