out of business

out of business idiom
  1. No longer carrying on commercial transactions, as in He's decided to go out of business when he turns sixty-five, or The supermarkets are putting the small grocers out of business.
  2. Not in working order, inoperative, as in It looks as though the merry-go-round is out of business tonight. Also see out of commission; go out, def. 5.

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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