out of the question
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Not worth discussing, not to be thought of; quite foreign to the sub- ject.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “out of the question” mean?
Not worth discussing, not to be thought of; quite foreign to the sub- ject.
Is “out of the question” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.