iron out
Meaning
To remove problems, disagreements, or small faults by working through them and making things smooth.
Origin
From the literal act of ironing wrinkles out of fabric. By metaphor, it came to mean smoothing out non-physical βwrinklesβ such as issues, conflicts, or errors.
Notes
Often implies dealing with minor issues or details to make a plan/relationship run smoothly; common in business, negotiations, and planning.
Examples
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We need to iron out the last few details before we sign the contract.
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She called him to iron out their misunderstanding after the meeting.
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The engineers spent the weekend ironing out bugs in the new app.
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Letβs iron out a schedule that works for everyone on the team.
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It took a few sessions with HR to iron out the dispute between the two departments.
Grammar & Usage Notes
Usually used as a phrasal verb: iron out + noun (iron out the details) or iron + noun + out (iron the details out). Also common: iron out differences / issues / kinks / wrinkles. Tense changes normally (ironed out, ironing out).
Synonyms
- smooth out
- work out
- resolve
- fix
- sort out
Antonyms
- complicate
- exacerbate
- aggravate
- mess up