Meaning & use
decked out
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Meanings
phrasephrasal verbinformal
Dressed or decorated in an elaborate, eye-catching way, often for a special occasion.
Grammar: Usually passive or after be/look: the hall was decked out in lights; the verb form is deck someone/something out.
Patterns
- be decked out in something
- be decked out with something
- deck someone/something out
The whole street was decked out in flags for the parade.
She turned up decked out in sequins and feathers.
Their living room was decked out with fairy lights and paper snowflakes.
phrasephrasal verbinformal
Fitted with a lot of extra equipment, features or accessories, especially expensive ones.
Grammar: Used with with: a car decked out with extras.
Patterns
- be decked out with something
His van is decked out with a sound system and leather seats.
The new office was decked out with standing desks and giant screens.
Word forms
| base verb | deck out |
|---|---|
| third person singular | decks out |
| past tense | decked out |
| -ing form | decking out |
Common combinations
- decked out in finery
- The guests arrived decked out in their finest clothes.
- decked out for Christmas
- The shopping center was decked out for Christmas by early November.
- decked out with lights
- Every house on the block was decked out with lights.
- deck yourself out
- He decked himself out in a tuxedo for the wedding.
- fully decked out
- The kitchen is fully decked out with modern appliances.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dressed up
- Dressed up is more general and only describes clothes, while decked out also covers rooms and objects and suggests a bigger show.
- adorned
- Adorned is more formal and literary, whereas decked out sounds casual and slightly playful.
- kitted out
- Kitted out is mainly British and focuses on equipment or gear rather than decoration.
- done up
- Done up is also informal but suggests careful styling of appearance rather than a crowd of decorations.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: decked out or decked?
decked out vs decked
Decked on its own often means knocked to the ground by a punch, which is a different sense from decked out.
Practice
For the festival, the town square was ___ with banners and lanterns.
Choose one answer.
Decked out means richly decorated. Cleaned up means made tidy, which does not suggest banners and lanterns.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “decked out”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.