outsource
Americanverb (used with object)
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(of a company or organization) to purchase (goods) or subcontract (services) from an outside supplier or source.
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to contract out (jobs, services, etc.).
a small business that outsources bookkeeping to an accounting firm.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to subcontract (work) to another company
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to buy in (components for a product) rather than manufacture them
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of outsource
1975–80
Explanation
To outsource is to hire someone outside a company to do work. A newspaper might outsource some of its stories, paying freelance writers instead of using its full-time staff. When a business outsources, they either employ someone who freelances or works for another company, or they buy supplies from outside the company. Either way, it often involves paying less for the labor or goods, and many companies save money by outsourcing from other countries. This business term is relatively new, emerging in the 1980s from the verb source, "obtain from a particular source."
Vocabulary lists containing outsource
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Southeast Asia - Introductory
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Southeast Asia - Middle School
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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.
Outsource enough decisions to AI, and Baskin-Robbins might soon only offer two flavors.
From Salon • Sep. 26, 2025
But one recommendation the agency brass turned down: Outsource some or all of the psychological screenings.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 26, 2021
Outsource the CEO The latest figures tell us that American executives make more than foreigners, media titans make more than oilmen, and none of it makes much sense.
From Slate • Jul. 1, 2013
You didn’t even look locally,” says Ted Fogliani, chief executive officer of Outsource Manufacturing, the San Diego company working with LightSaver.
From BusinessWeek • Jun. 21, 2012
Outsource, in-0source, this is something that will have to come.
From Forbes • Jun. 8, 2011
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.
