at the outset

Idioms  

1. Also, from the outset. At the start, from the start. For example, He wanted to explain his position from the outset, but there wasn't time, or At the outset the problem seemed simple, but then it became quite complicated. The noun outset is rarely heard today except in these phrases. [Mid-1700s]

---

Example Sentences

If you have the bad luck of experiencing a market downturn at the outset, your slope of growth will forever be lower.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026

You talk in the documentary about how the big idea at the outset of your solo career was fusing rock and dance music.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

In a new report this week, the IMF detailed the economic costs of war, estimating that output in countries where fighting takes place drops by three percent at the outset, "and continues falling for years."

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

“We’re here to win,” May said at the outset of the tournament.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

Perhaps the safest thing to do at the outset, if technology permits, is to send music.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

Related Words

• initially
• originally