out of whack

See also: out-of-whack

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

out of whack (comparative more out of whack, superlative most out of whack)

  1. (colloquial, idiomatic) Wrong, broken; specifically:
    1. Not in proper balance; unbalanced.
      Our priorities have gotten out of whack.
    2. Not in proper alignment.
      The floor is so out of whack that the door hits it when opened.
    3. Not working or operating properly.
      My banged-up left knee is out of whack.

Usage notes

  • The unhyphenated spelling is usually used predicatively, and the hyphenated spelling usually occurs when the phrase appears before the word it modifies.
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