Meaning
No longer in danger or difficulty; past the most critical or risky part of a problem, illness, or situation.
It’s frequently used with a negative, as “not out of the woods yet,” to warn that although things have improved, the danger hasn’t fully passed.
Origin
The phrase draws on the old association of forests with danger, disorientation, and hidden threats in Western folklore and fairy tale — travelers lost in the woods, from Hansel and Gretel to Little Red Riding Hood, are only truly safe once they find their way back out to open, familiar ground. English usage of “out of the woods” in this figurative sense is documented in American English from the early nineteenth century, reflecting a period when actual travel through dense, unmapped forest was a genuine physical hazard, not just a literary trope; the metaphor of leaving the forest behind as a marker of safety would have felt immediate and concrete to audiences of that era in a way it is now purely idiomatic. The negative construction “not out of the woods yet” is especially common in medical and financial contexts today, describing a patient or a crisis that has improved without being fully resolved.
Examples
The surgeon said he’s stable, but we’re not out of the woods yet.
Sales picked up in the spring, though the company isn’t entirely out of the woods financially.
After three days, the fever finally broke and the doctors said she was out of the woods.
A: Is the project back on track? B: Getting there, but we’re not out of the woods yet.
Frequently asked questions
What does 'Out of the woods' mean?
No longer in danger or difficulty; past the most critical or risky part of a problem, illness, or situation.
It’s frequently used with a negative, as “not out of the woods yet,” to warn that although things have improved, the danger hasn’t fully passed.