Learning Basic English Words With Pictures

What does “out of” mean (out of water)?

When you are out of something, you have none of it left. I am out of water means there is no water for me now. The water is all gone. You can be out of many things: out of milk, out of money, out of time. It does not mean the thing never existed. It means you had some, and now there is none. Shops and homes use this phrase every day.

In the clip, the speaker holds an empty cup: “I am out of water. I have no water.” Then he says, “I am not out of coffee.” That means he still has coffee left. So out of = none left, and not out of = you still have some.