outing
Americannoun
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a pleasure trip, excursion, picnic, or the like.
the annual outing for the senior class.
- Synonyms:
- jaunt
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a public appearance, as by a participant in an athletic contest or event.
The new player scored spectacularly in his second outing with the team.
-
the intentional exposure of a person’s denied or secret identity, orientation, or status, especially gay sexual orientation or transgender identity.
noun
-
a short outward and return journey; trip; excursion
-
informal the naming by homosexuals of other prominent homosexuals, often against their will
Etymology
Origin of outing
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English; see origin at out, -ing 1
Explanation
An outing is a short trip, especially one that takes no longer than a day. For example, you might ask your pal if he'd like to go on an outing to the zoo. A summer outing might be a picnic or a day at the beach, while a winter outing could consist of a hike in the snow or a shopping trip and lunch at a restaurant. Any brief, fun journey can be called an outing. In the fourteenth century, an outing was simply the "action of going out," and in the fifteenth century it started to mean "act of putting out" as well. By the 1800s it had gained today's definition.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Bullying isn’t journalism. Outing someone will never be journalism. What the Sydney Morning Herald did to Rebel Wilson is bullying.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2022
According to a 1909 issue of The Outing Magazine, this wire contraption combined "a broiler with a level standard for coffee-pot and skillets."
From Salon • Jul. 3, 2021
The Gashlycrumb Tinies or, After the Outing appeared in 1963, in a boxed set published by Simon & Schuster called The Vinegar Works: Three Volumes of Moral Instruction.
From Slate • Nov. 14, 2018
"The community that has grown around the Outing Club is not going anywhere," the Outing Club's officers said in the post.
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2018
It belongs to Dartmouth College, of Hanover, whose famous Outing Club has been looking after it in a commendably diligent and low-key way since the early years of this century.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
