outside

[ noun out-sahyd, -sahyd; adjective out-sahyd, out-; adverb out-sahyd; preposition out-sahyd, out-sahyd ]

noun

1. the outer side, surface, or part; exterior:

   The outside of the house needs painting.

2. the external aspect or appearance.
3. the space without or beyond an enclosure, institution, boundary, etc.:

   a prisoner about to resume life on the outside.

4. a position away or farther away from the inside or center:

   The horse on the outside finished second.

5. an outside passenger or place on a coach or other vehicle.
6. Northern Canada and Alaska. (sometimes initial capital letter) the settled or more populous part of Canada or the U.S.

adjective

1. being, acting, done, or originating beyond an enclosure, boundary, etc.:

   outside noises; news from the outside world.

2. situated on or pertaining to the outside; exterior; external:

   an outside television antenna.

3. situated away from the inside or center; farther or farthest away from the inside or center:

   the outside lane.

4. not belonging to or connected with a specified institution, society, etc.:

   outside influences; outside help.

5. extremely unlikely or remote:

   an outside chance for recovery.

   Synonyms: slight, distant, faint

6. extreme or maximum:

   an outside estimate.

7. being in addition to one's regular work or duties:

   an outside job.

8. working on or assigned to the outside, as of a place or organization:

   an outside man to care for the grounds.

9. Baseball. (of a pitched ball) passing, but not going over, home plate on the side opposite the batter:

   The fastball was high and outside.

adverb

1. on or to the outside, exterior, or space without:

   Take the dog outside.

2. in or to an area that is removed from or beyond a given place or region:

   The country's inhabitants seldom travel outside.

preposition

1. on or toward the outside of:

   There was a noise outside the door.

2. beyond the confines or borders of:

   visitors from outside the country.

3. with the exception of; aside from:

   She has no interests outside her work.

outside

preposition

1. sometimes foll by of on or to the exterior of

   outside the house

2. beyond the limits of

   outside human comprehension

3. apart from; other than

   no-one knows outside you and me

adjective

1. prenominal situated on the exterior

   an outside lavatory

2. remote; unlikely

   an outside chance

3. not a member of
4. the greatest possible or probable (prices, odds, etc)
5. (of a road lane, esp in a dual carriageway or motorway) situated nearer or nearest to the central reservation, for use by faster or overtaking vehicles

adverb

1. outside a specified thing or place; out of doors
2. slang.
   not in prison

noun

1. the external side or surface

   the outside of the garage

2. the external appearance or aspect
3. the exterior or outer part of something
4. (of a path, pavement, etc) the side nearest the road or away from a wall or building
5. sport an outside player, as in football
6. plural the outer sheets of a ream of paper
7. (in the north) the settled parts of Canada
8. at the outside informal.
   at the outside at the most or at the greatest extent

   two days at the outside

9. See inside
   outside in
   outside in another term for inside out See inside

Usage

The use of outside of and inside of, although fairly common, is generally thought to be incorrect or non-standard: she waits outside (not outside of ) the school

Word History and Origins

Origin of outside¹

First recorded in 1495–1505; out- + side ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. at the outside, at the utmost limit; at the maximum:

   There weren't more than ten at the outside.

2. outside of, other than; exclusive of; excepting:

   Outside of us, no one else came to the party.

More idioms and phrases containing outside

In addition to the idiom beginning with outside , also see at most (the outside) .

Example Sentences

They’re also important in the daily lives of just about everyone who lives outside the cities.

From Popular-Science

His family, supporters, and Moore waited outside the Jefferson City Correction Facility to welcome him home.

From Essence.com

My guess is we’ll be outside in some sort of socially distanced way.

From Washington Post

During that same period, scientists have also detected high-energy neutrinos, ghostly particles from outside the Milky Way whose origins are also unknown.

From Science News

A Martian landscape had replaced the Pacific coastline outside my home in San Francisco.

From Quartz

These generally come from the outside, from cultural pressures and messages.

From The Daily Beast

Two witnesses outside the Charlie Hebdo office building quoted the Kouachi brothers claiming they were members of al Qaeda.

From The Daily Beast

Sadly, it appears the American press often doesn't need any outside help when it comes to censoring themselves.

From The Daily Beast

The offices were firebombed in 2011; no one was hurt but a permanent police car was subsequently stationed outside.

From The Daily Beast

Expensive day care pushes women out of the labor market while men continue to work outside the home.

From The Daily Beast

Where the outside conditions are not very favourable, practically all the British species may be grown with ease under glass.

From Project Gutenberg

Absently his hands wandered through the pockets, and found his purse and the money in an outside pocket.

From Project Gutenberg

Outside the hotel he came upon the two sisters sitting on a bench and drinking coffee.

From Project Gutenberg

At the hotel he found the bench outside occupied chiefly by Jean.

From Project Gutenberg

He reached up for her big, rough straw hat that hung on a peg outside the door, and put it on her head.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• farther
• foreign
• out