1.
If you ~ a course of action, an idea, or a solution, you decide that it is impossible or unsuitable.
The Prime Minister is believed to have ruled out cuts in child benefit or pensions...
PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)
2.
If something rules out a situation, it prevents it from happening or from being possible.
A serious car accident in 1986 ruled out a permanent future for him in farming.
PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)