out for, be

out for, be idiom
  1. Be intent on, want, as in The management is mostly out for bigger growth in sales. [c. 1900]
  2. out for blood. Intent on revenge, ready to fight with someone, as in When Tom heard they'd outbid him, he was out for blood. This hyperbolic term uses blood in the sense of “bloodshed” or “violent confrontation.” Also see go out for.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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