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out-of-date
out-of-dateadjectivegone out of style or fashion; outmoded; obsolete.
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out of date
out of dateadjectiveno longer valid, current, or fashionable; outmoded
out-of-date
Americanadjective
adjective
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Too old to be used, past the point of expiration, as in This milk is out of date . [Early 1600s]
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Old-fashioned, no longer in style, as in Dean has three suits but they're all out of date . [Early 1800s]
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of out-of-date
First recorded in 1620–30
Explanation
Something that's out-of-date is either old-fashioned or so old that it's invalid. That typewriter in your closet is out-of-date, as well as that acid wash denim vest. An expired driver's license is out-of-date, and the out-of-date milk in your refrigerator is pretty likely to smell sour (depending on how out-of-date it is). Another way to be out-of-date is to be hopelessly unfashionable, like your mom's out-of-date bell bottom jeans or your grandparents' out-of-date kitchen, with its appliances from 1970. You can also use the words obsolete or outdated to mean out-of-date.
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.
See Examples For:
While their subplot is a worthy ding at today’s avalanche of junk, heaven help us if “Toy Story 6” co-stars an out-of-date cellphone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
The trade association for the nursing-home industry downplayed the report, arguing it was based on a small and out-of-date sample.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 7, 2026
One ad rejected the criticism, saying: “We’re not an out-of-date, birdbrain of a store.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
According to him, both the public and designers are no longer looking for one-season pieces which are quickly out-of-date, instead opting for styling that will stand the test of time.
From Barron's ● Jan. 25, 2026
Later, returning home, he regaled Blanca with accounts of the vulgarity of these stale, out-of-date families, whose daughters were still chaperoned and whose gentlemen wore scapulars.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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However, he also said that the compact is woefully out of date and should be scrapped and rewritten to match the reality of the shrinking river.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
He increasingly battled with a top command he cast as out of date, not flexible and bogged down with bureaucracy.
From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026
And as a result, their numbers are always out of date by the time they are published, because they are typically reported a month in arrears.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
Photo IDs that are out of date can still be used if the image still looks like you.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
There were wardrobes stuffed to bursting with fashions years out of date and dressers full of children’s clothes.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
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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.