outsider
Americannoun
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a person not belonging to a particular group, set, party, etc..
Society often regards the artist as an outsider.
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a person unconnected or unacquainted with the matter in question.
Not being a parent, I was regarded as an outsider.
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a racehorse, sports team, or other competitor not considered likely to win or succeed.
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a person or thing not within an enclosure, boundary, etc.
noun
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a person or thing excluded from or not a member of a set, group, etc
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a contestant, esp a horse, thought unlikely to win in a race
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(in the north) a person who does not live in the Arctic regions
Etymology
Origin of outsider
Explanation
An outsider is a stranger — someone who doesn't fit in, or someone who observes a group from afar. An outsider stands outside the group, looking in. If you go through high school without belonging to any particular group — you're not a jock, a nerd, or an artist, for example — you might feel like an outsider. Having a brand new job can also put you in the position of being an outsider, especially if you have no experience in the profession. To an outsider, the way a busy restaurant works might seem chaotic and random, for example. To an insider, on the other hand, it might all make perfect sense.
Vocabulary lists containing outsider
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.
Outsider art in every sense of the word, and laden with scathing political and social commentary, Purifoy’s installations morph and change in the elements.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026
TV roles also began stacking up in shows such as the Stephen King mini series, The Outsider, and Genius, the anthology series about Aretha Franklin, in which she played the leading role.
From BBC • Dec. 29, 2025
Previously living in Austin and working in tech, he practiced his technique as a hobby and started Outsider BBQ in Seattle.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 4, 2023
“I have always been a fan of ‘Baton Rouge,’ ” Brooks wrote in the notes released with the “In Pieces” CD, Outsider reported.
From Washington Post • May 3, 2022
But an Outsider, a government official, I think, who was on his way to Nome as a passenger with the Mail Team, was pretty sore about it.
From Baldy of Nome by Darling, Esther Birdsall
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.
