stick one's neck out

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Take a risk or put oneself in a vulnerable position

Literally: expose one's neck
Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

She stuck her neck out to support the controversial project

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “stick one's neck out” mean?

Take a risk or put oneself in a vulnerable position Literally: expose one's neck

Is “stick one's neck out” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.