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• outward-bound
  outward-bound

  adjective

  headed in an outward direction, as toward foreign ports.
• Outward Bound
  Outward Bound

  noun

  a play (1923) by Sutton Vane.

outward-bound

¹ American  

[aut-werd-baund] / ˈaʊt wərdˈbaʊnd /

adjective

1. headed in an outward direction, as toward foreign ports.

   We passed an outward-bound ship as we came into the harbor.

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Outward Bound ² American  

noun

1. a play (1923) by Sutton Vane.

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Outward Bound British  

noun

1. (in Britain) a scheme to provide adventure training for young people

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Etymology

Origin of outward-bound

First recorded in 1595–1605

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

outward-bound Outward Bound

In terms of performance, the bank scored higher net interest income, a closely-watched benchmark measuring the difference between revenue from lending and outward-bound interest payments.

From Barron's ● Jan. 13, 2026

Her style is cool and outward-bound; I’d love to love it.

From New York Times ● Nov. 30, 2016

On distant seas, their dragon-prows went gleaming outward-bound ship.

From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2015

IT IS hard to rise to the top in business without doing an outward-bound course.

From Economist ● Oct. 2, 2014

By taking passage on an outward-bound steamer from Southampton, and later transferring themselves to a whaler, they reached their destination in safety on the 27th of November, 1871.

From The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 1 by Frederick Whymper

Upstairs live staffers for Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound, which leases the building from the city and operates in the surrounding park.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 8, 2022

Klein had worked with local conservation groups like Outward Bound Adventures, Tree People and Heal the Bay, and was familiar with the L.A. park system’s many unknown or underused amphitheaters and gathering places.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2022

But Halm, who spent 10 years as an instructor and director at the Northwest Outward Bound School, didn’t wait until her first child was pulk-sized.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 2, 2022

A coalition of Scottish outdoor organisations - including Girlguiding, The Outward Bound Trust and the Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres - has warned that "more will follow and shut down permanently before Christmas".

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2020

“He’s spending the summer doing Outward Bound, so he’ll have even more muscles when I see him next!”

From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart

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