tag out

tag out

1. In baseball, to tap a runner with the ball in order to remove them from the field and end the play. A noun or pronoun can be used between "tag" and "out." He began rounding third base but was tagged out just before getting to home. The ball bounced right back to the pitcher who immediately tagged the batter out.
2. In tag-team professional wrestling, to tag one's teammate (usually on the hand) and then exit the ring in order to allow the teammate to begin wrestling the opponent. Everyone thought he was done for after being smashed by that suplex, but he managed to tag out at the last minute. The crowd all booed as she tagged out.
3. slang To allow someone else to take over one's current activity, especially to give oneself a reprieve. Sorry George, but I've been trying to get the baby to sleep for over an hour—I need to tag out. Just let me know if you want to tag out at any point.
4. slang To take over someone else's current activity, especially to give them a reprieve. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "tag" and "out." Tom's been looking after the kids all afternoon, so I'm going to go tag him out. Tom arrives at 8 AM to tag out the late-night security guard.
See also: out, tag
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

tag someone out

[in baseball] to touch with the ball, and thereby put someone out. The shortstop tagged the runner out and retired the side. He tagged out the runner.
See also: out, tag
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

tag out

v. Baseball
To touch some base runner with the ball in order to put that player out: The shortstop tagged out the runner at second. I tagged the player out and ended the inning.
See also: out, tag
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • angle
  • angling
  • not do (someone or oneself) any favors
  • involve with
  • involve with (someone or something)
  • involved with
  • buy (yourself) time
  • buy time
  • arrange for
  • arrange some music for
References in periodicals archive
If, with two outs, the defender with the ball is running down the back runner and is within two feet of him when he hears the 3rd baseman call "four-four," he should try to tag out the runner before the front runner crosses the plate.
The 2nd baseman should try to tag out the back runner if he's close enough - getting the third out before the lead runner can cross the plate.
The 1st and 3rd double steal
Investigators positioned themselves between home plate and first base and recorded the number of conflicts for ball/strike, first base, tag out, balk, foul line, and "other" calls.
The second most common type of dispute in both leagues involved calls on tag outs. In fact, though specific data were not collected, it is clear that a higher percentage of tag out calls lead to disputes than did ball/strike calls.
Nevertheless, it is also true that players on offense argued more than players on defense about first base and tag out calls.
Conflict with baseball umpires: an observational study
Contractors and their personnel disrupt our normal routines and affect things like fire watches, tag outs, and work-control packages.
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