To trip out is an informal English phrasal verb with two main senses, one originating in counterculture drug slang and the other widely used in modern everyday conversation:
- Casual Slang (Most Common): To feel shocked, amazed, bewildered, or overwhelmed by something strange, unexpected, or mind-bending.
- Drug Slang (Original): To experience intense hallucinogenic or mind-altering effects from a psychotropic substance.
Depending on context, “trip out” can be used intransitively (“I was really tripping out last night”) or transitively with an object or person (“That weird movie really tripped me out” or “Don’t trip out over it”).
Feeling Shocked, Amazed, or Overwhelmed
In everyday casual speech, trip out describes reacting strongly to something bizarre, surreal, or unbelievable. It is often synonymous with “freaking out,” “losing your cool,” or simply being completely stunned by a situation:
- “I started tripping out when I couldn’t find my passport right before the flight.”
- “Did you see that magic trick? It completely tripped me out!”
- “Don’t trip out, we still have plenty of time to finish the assignment.”
Hallucinogenic or Psychotropic Effects
Originating in the 1960s drug culture alongside terms like acid trip, trip out describes experiencing an intense altered state of consciousness. While still used this way, modern speakers frequently use the term metaphorically without any reference to drugs.
- “The visual effects in the laser show made everyone feel like they were tripping out.”
- “He ate those wild mushrooms and started tripping out in the middle of the campsite.”
Movie and Television Citations
In TV and cinema, “trip out” appears frequently when characters experience strange phenomena, sudden paranoia, or surreal events:
- Stranger Things: Characters often use retro 1980s slang like “tripping out” when confronted with supernatural events or uncanny sights in the Upside Down.
- The Matrix (1999): Describing the mind-bending reality shift when entering or viewing simulated environments: “You’re tripping out, Neo.”
- Superbad (2007): Showing high school characters reacting with dramatic anxiety to minor social mishaps: “Stop tripping out, man, everything’s going to be fine.”
More “Trip” Phrasal Verbs
Because the verb trip forms several distinct phrasal verbs, understanding their prepositions helps keep their meanings clear:
- Trip On: Naming the physical surface or object your foot stumbles over (e.g., “trip on a rug”), or experiencing a drug’s effect (e.g., “tripping on mushrooms”).
- Trip Up: Making a mistake or intentionally causing someone else to falter or fail (e.g., “a trick question meant to trip you up”).
- Trip Over: Stumbling physically over a bulky obstacle, or acting overly eager and clumsy (“tripping over oneself”).